


Composure

by mistleto3



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: (or is it), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bondage, Fluff, Love Triangles, M/M, Minor Violence, Multi, One-Sided Relationship, Polyamory, Rough Sex, Slow-ish burn, Smut, Threesome, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-10-13 02:12:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10504296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistleto3/pseuds/mistleto3
Summary: The tension between the two Kings finally builds to breaking point, but at first, it doesn’t seem mean the same to Mikoto as it does to Reisi.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr.](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/159017118924/composure)

Reisi wasn’t quite sure how things had turned out this way. He and Mikoto had just been fighting, like they were often wont to do- there was nothing abnormal about it. He’d had Mikoto by the collar of his shirt, brandishing his sword in his free hand as he pinned his opponent against the brickwork of the alleyway they’d ended up in. Their advantages over one another were always short-lived; they were fairly evenly matched, so Reisi braced himself for the counterattack- he hadn’t been ready for the last one, and small patches of his skin were singed and pink to prove it. Still, he took a sort of guilty pleasure in the sting, just like he enjoyed the pleasant soreness in his muscles that came from the exercise- his little scuffles with Mikoto were the only time he ever got a _real_ workout. There was nothing else that could match a King but another King.

But despite his preparation, once again, Reisi was caught off guard, but this time not by an attack. Instead, he suddenly found that it was his own back that was pinned to the wall, not Mikoto’s.

And their lips were crushed together.

The kiss was greedy and heated and fuelled by the adrenaline coursing through their blood, and Reisi didn’t quite remember how it started, but he knew he definitely didn’t want it to stop. He couldn’t tell if he couldn’t catch his breath because of the fight, or because of the rough, desperate pressure of Mikoto’s lips against his own; his head felt light, and his hands were moving of their own accord, wrapping around Mikoto’s shoulders to clutch at the fabric of his jacket as the other fisted in his hair, trying to pull his body closer. His skin was too hot from the fire burning just beneath it, the aura just about contained within his human form; if it was anyone else, Reisi would have thought they had a fever from the sheer heat, so hot it almost hurt to touch. But despite the temperature, his instinct was still to get closer, paw at Mikoto’s jacket until he could pull it off his shoulders, bare his arms so more of that feverish skin was pressed against his own. His hands slipped down to run across Mikoto’s biceps, letting out a soft, appreciative noise into his mouth as he savoured the feeling of the hard muscle beneath his skin. Mikoto nipped his bottom lip in response, non-too-gently, and Reisi couldn’t stop another groan escaping his throat. Instantly, he felt his cheeks flushing faintly in embarrassment- he was beginning to lose his composure already, and all Mikoto was doing was kissing him.

As Mikoto released his bottom lip from between his teeth, Reisi huffed in frustration, deciding two could play at his game, and he leaned forward, pulling Mikoto’s head towards him by his hair to bite at his earlobe, then kiss downwards to latch onto the skin of his throat with his mouth. He sucked and licked and bit at that spot relentlessly until the flesh blazed an angry crimson, and there was no way it wouldn’t leave a mark. At the sensation, a quiet grunt escaped from between Mikoto’s gritted teeth, and his grip on Reisi’s jacket tightened. The sound, as quiet and unyielding as it was, sent sparks of electricity down Reisi’s spine. He couldn’t quite believe this was happening; it felt like a dream. Perhaps that was because his head was still foggy from being unable to catch his breath, or perhaps it was just because he’d dreamed about this so many times, and woken up disappointed.

But this was definitely too real to be a dream. The heat of Mikoto’s rough, chapped lips against his jaw, the contours of his muscle as Reisi slid his hands up beneath his shirt and raked his nails down his back… it was so real that it almost felt like he was imagining it. His every sense was heightened to the point it almost felt unnatural, attuned to the sound of Mikoto’s ragged breathing in his ear, the musky smell of his skin and sweat and cigarette smoke and soap that seemed to cloud his head, the unbearable heat radiating from his body where their torsos were pressed together…

Mikoto’s hand slid up from its grip on Reisi’s waist to tangle in his hair, then yanked his head to the side by the grip to expose his throat and attack his neck with his teeth as payback for the mark Reisi had left on his own skin, and as he did, Reisi let out an involuntary moan, his hips bucking forward instinctively to grind against Mikoto’s. At the friction, and at the discovery that Mikoto’s underwear was just as tented as his own, Reisi’s vision blurred, and he found himself clawing at Mikoto’s back and biting down on his own lip to hold back the undignified stream of high-pitched moans that threatened to burst out of him. He could feel his cheeks darkening even further in humiliation; he’d fallen to a complete mess so easily, while Mikoto still seemed so cool. Reisi could feel his friend’s lips curling as he smirked against his throat at the effect he’d had on him, which only made him more embarrassed, but he was determined not to be the first to break. Though there _was_ one thing…

“Nn…” He cleared his throat, then murmured: “W-we ought to get somewhere more private. Indecent exposure and sexual activity in a public place is punishable by…”

He was silenced by Mikoto’s lips crushing against his own again.

When the kiss broke, he had to cough once more to stop his voice from wavering embarrassingly. “B-besides, I don’t have any lubricant on my person, so if you wish for this to go any further…”

“Where’s closest?” Even just the deep, gravelly quality to Mikoto’s voice was enough to send stars bursting behind Reisi’s eyes.

“M-my office, most likely. I have an on-call room set up there for when I have to work late-…”

“That’ll do.”

The next thing Reisi knew, he was being dragged by the wrist towards the street and bundled into a taxi.

“Ts-Tsubaki-Mon, please,” Reisi told the cab driver, and he saw Mikoto smirk at his stutter. He straightened his glasses and smoothed his coat proudly, then elbowed Mikoto in the side, which only prompted his smirk to grow as he leaned across the seat to start kissing the sensitive patch of skin beneath Reisi’s ear.

“S-Suoh, really, we are in…” he hissed, but Reisi was silenced when Mikoto bit down on the skin he was suckling on, and he had to clamp his lips shut in order to stop an embarrassing noise from escaping them.

The taxi ride couldn’t end quickly enough. As soon as the cab pulled up, Reisi tossed almost double the fare at the driver as an apology for his partner’s behaviour, then climbed out after Mikoto and, in one swift movement, pulled his wrists behind his back and cuffed them.

Mikoto looked back over his shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Be quiet,” Reisi grumbled.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s going to look suspicious if I just waltz in with the Red King unrestrained.”

“It’s going to look even more suspicious if you lead the Red King in handcuffs up to your bedroom.”

“My employees don’t question me.”

“Sure. And they won’t question the hickey either.”

“Shut up.”

“You planning to leave these on the whole time?” Mikoto asked, jangling the chain of his handcuffs.

“No; you don’t seem like much of the submissive type to be perfectly honest. Though I might consider it if you don’t keep your mouth closed.”

“Is that a threat?” The smirk playing on Mikoto’s lips was infuriating; Reisi wasn’t sure how he could keep himself quite so composed in this situation. The more time passed, the more he found himself struggling to resist kissing away that stupid, smug smile.

“You’re very talkative today for someone who I can normally only get three words out of,” Reisi remarked.

“And you’re flustered for someone who’s normally so collected.”

Reisi wasn’t sure what came over him, but in the heat of the moment he found himself delivering a sharp smack to his friend’s backside, which only widened the smirk on Mikoto’s lips, and made the faint flush to Reisi’s cheeks burn much deeper. Blessedly though, Mikoto kept quiet as Reisi led him across the courtyard and through the maze of corridors that made up the Sceptre 4 headquarters.

The moment they got inside the on-call room, Reisi threw the door shut and locked it hurriedly, fumbling with the key in his haste, then returned his attention quickly to Mikoto, who still seemed so maddeningly calm while Reisi could barely stop his hands from shaking. But when Reisi kissed him again, Mikoto couldn’t hide the hunger that came bubbling back to the surface. Their breathing quickly became sharp and gasping once more, their tongues meeting between open lips, the kiss sloppy and desperate as they crushed their bodies together, their hips grinding together once more. The delicious friction finally gave some relief from the mounting pressure that had built up during that unbearable cab ride.

The kiss finally broke when Reisi moved his lips down Mikoto’s neck once more, but as he did so, Mikoto tugged on the handcuffs and murmured:

“Are you gonna take these off?” To Reisi’s great delight, he could hear the need beginning to creep into his voice.

“Hmm… Perhaps later.”

Mikoto barely had time to narrow his eyes before Reisi pushed him backwards. His knees hit the edge of the bed, and he fell back to sit on the mattress, looking up at Reisi with suspicion.

“You know I can burn them off, right?”

“But you won’t.”

“How do you know?”

Reisi merely smirked in response, shrugging off his jacket, then pushing apart Mikoto’s thighs and dropping down to kneel between them. Without breaking eye contact, he ran his hands down Mikoto’s sides, the movement slow and almost reverent as he savoured the feeling of the muscle under his fingers and the quickened movement of his ribs as he tried his best to keep his jagged breathing regular. It was Mikoto who broke eye contact first as Reisi’s fingers reached his waistband, unfastening his belt teasingly slowly, then undoing the button of his fly, deftly despite his shaking hands, drawing down the zip…

Reisi almost felt dizzy again as he curled his fingers beneath the elastic of Mikoto’s underwear and pulled his boxers and jeans down in one slow, smooth movement, delighting in the way Mikoto arched his back to lift his hips off the mattress to allow Reisi to remove the garments. His eyes widened slightly as he freed Mikoto’s cock though- he hadn’t quite been expecting the size of the thing, and though he’d managed to regain control of his expression quite quickly, when he looked up he saw Mikoto grinning smugly at his reaction.

The smirk quickly vanished though as Reisi set to work, his mouth exploring every inch of exposed skin except where Mikoto wanted it, kissing and nipping and licking his stomach, hips, thighs, leaving bruises on the sensitive flesh wherever he paused to worry on it. Every little frustrated grunt that escaped Mikoto’s lips raised goosebumps down Reisi’s spine, and he relished in every twitch of his thighs, every whisper of the sheets as Mikoto’s fingers tightened in them.

But as much as Reisi loved teasing him, loved the power he had to make a mess of _the Red King,_ there was only so long he could force himself to wait. He knew there would be no hope of making Mikoto beg- he was too proud- but Reisi had gotten plenty satisfaction from the state he’d reduced him to- teeth gritted, panting, and barely able to stop his hips from bucking towards Reisi’s lips. Reisi could almost see him holding back the urge to tell him to get on with it, and the links of the cuffs were scraping as his wrists strained against the restraint, as though he was dying to grab onto Reisi’s hair and pull his head down. To be perfectly honest, Reisi wasn’t opposed to that idea in the slightest, but there was something more fun about this.

Finally, after what had felt like forever, Reisi gave in, letting his breath ghost across Mikoto’s flesh as he lifted his head slowly to lick the tip of his cock. Mikoto let out a low groan of relief, his hips rolling towards the sensation, and Reisi shivered at the sight. Once again, he locked eyes with Mikoto, holding his gaze as he flicked his tongue across the skin a few more times, the touch light and almost experimental, before he finally wrapped his lips around the head. Mikoto let out a shuddering breath as he began to move, bobbing his head torturously slowly. With every movement, he took Mikoto deeper, but only a few millimetres deeper, revelling in the frustration in his eyes.

And then suddenly, Reisi plunged his head down until his face was pressed into Mikoto’s stomach, and his friend finally let out a long, low groan of surprised satisfaction, his head tilting backwards as his eyelids slid half-closed.

“Fuck…”

The sound set every nerve in Reisi’s body alight, and he went to work with vigour, his lips reaching far further down than he’d expected them to be able to as he raised and lowered his head in a quick rhythm and traced patterns across the underside of Mikoto’s cock with his tongue. Mikoto’s breath came quicker now, little grunts and groans just managing to escape him before they caught in his throat and he managed to silence them.

Reisi lifted his head after a short while to hiss: “You know, you don’t have to keep so quiet.”

“I’ll stop when you uncuff me,” Mikoto countered, doing his best to keep the breathlessness out of his voice.

Reisi’s mind was made up instantly- without hesitating, he pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs. Mikoto’s hands flew to Reisi’s hair immediately, tangling in the locks to push his head down again, and this time it was Reisi who was unable to hold back a moan as Mikoto manhandled him, sliding his cock back into his mouth. As much as he’d loved having Mikoto at his mercy, he loved being at Mikoto’s mercy even more. He shivered as Mikoto pressed his head downwards, and he dug his nails into Mikoto’s thighs as he allowed his friend to fuck his mouth. The pain of the fingers tugging at his hair sent a trail of goosebumps prickling down Reisi’s back. He had to gasp for every breath as his head was lifted up, barely able to suck in enough air before he was pushed back downwards again, and he could feel his eyes beginning to water and the lenses of his glasses were fogging up, but he loved it. This was the kind of thing he’d always fantasised about, but would never admit to- the fantasy of letting go, surrendering himself to the will of his partner, relishing in the pain. Of course, he knew that he could stop Mikoto at any minute if he wanted to, but where was the fun in that? He was finding far too much enjoyment in the noises that were finally flowing freely from Mikoto’s lips. Admittedly, he still wasn’t a vocal person, but the deep grunts and low, gravelly, almost growling moans and hitches in his breath were more than enough to send sparks down Reisi’s spine.

So it almost felt too soon when Mikoto yanked his head back up again, and by now, Reisi almost wasn’t embarrassed by the noise that escaped his throat, half a whine of protest and half a groan of pleasure at the tugging on his hair.

“You’re kind of a slut, ya know,” Mikoto pointed out, and Reisi chuckled, removing his steamed-up glasses and setting them on the bedside table.

“Only for the right people.”

“You should let your guard down more often. You’re more fun without a stick up your ass.”

“There’s a joke to be made there, but I feel it’s low-hanging fruit.”

Mikoto let out a short, breathless chuckle, then pulled Reisi up onto the bed and crushed their lips together once more, his tongue forcing its way into Reisi’s mouth. Reisi surrendered immediately to the kiss, shivering as Mikoto tugged off his cravat and began to fumble the buttons of his waistcoat ungracefully. As soon as Mikoto had gotten it off, he tossed the garment across the room, then tore open Reisi’s shirt impatiently, sending the buttons scattering onto the ground as they popped off the fabric.

“Eager,” Reisi teased.

“Says you. Uniform’s dumb anyway.”

“I’ve always been told it’s sexy.”

“By who?”

Reisi raised an eyebrow at him.

“Maybe in theory,” Mikoto conceded. “In practice it’s a fuckin’ pain,” he grumbled, pulling off the offending garment and discarding it onto the floor.

Deciding to help him along to save the rest of his clothes, Reisi kicked off his boots and undid his fly hurriedly, then stopped Mikoto for a brief moment to tug his t-shirt over his head. As soon as it was off, Mikoto continued undressing him hastily, pulling off his trousers and underwear so the pair finally sat naked beside each other. Reisi took a moment to absorb the sight in front of him; it wasn’t difficult to tell Mikoto was an attractive guy even through his clothes, but naked, he was something else entirely. His skin was tanned and smooth and perfect, save for a few raised pink scars from the scuffles he and Reisi had engaged in over the years, and beneath it, the muscles wrapped around his arms and chest and thighs were perfectly sculpted and firm.

But the best thing was the feral glint in Mikoto’s eye as he stared back at Reisi; there was a sort of predatory lust written across his features more clearly than his friend had ever seen any other emotion displayed there before. His eyes were fixed on Reisi’s as he watched his gaze follow the trail of red hair down from Mikoto’s belly button. When Reisi noticed him staring, he felt as though his spine had turned to jelly- the lust burning in his hazel eyes and the way his teeth were caught around his bottom lip took Reisi’s breath away. He never thought he’d get to see Mikoto like this, never thought all those dreams, all those guilty fantasies, might one day come to life. It was better than he’d ever imagined.

With a smirk, he reached for Mikoto, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him down on top of him to kiss him deeply. Goosebumps spread across his flesh wherever their bodies touched, and his hips bucked instinctively towards Mikoto’s, grinding their groins together. Reisi gasped as the friction electrified every nerve in his body, and Mikoto let out a low grunt of his own, then slid his hand in between them, wrapping it around both of their lengths stroking them slowly. Reisi almost couldn’t hold back a cry; Mikoto’s rough hands felt so much better than his own, and the waves of pleasure that rolled through his body felt far too good for the relative gentleness of the touch. Clumsily, Reisi made a grab for the bedside drawer, groping blindly for the bottle of lubricant, which he eventually laid his hand on and pulled out, trying to press it into Mikoto’s grasp. But Mikoto paused, breaking the kiss, and let out a small chuckle, almost like a high school student being chided.

“What?” Reisi asked.

“I’ll admit I haven’t done this before.”

“…You’re a virgin?” He blinked in surprise.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Huh. I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“I’ll take that as a vote of confidence.”

Reisi nodded, smirking faintly. “I take it you aren’t versed in the… Nn… details then?” His teasing tone was somewhat weakened by the breathiness in his tone, and the crack in his voice as Mikoto rolled his hips against his own.

“I don’t tend to spend my time researching how guys fuck other guys.”

“Are you not a queer man? Surely it’s relevant?”

“Only as of recently.”

“Well, I’m happy to acquaint you with the details,” he said with a smirk, uncapping the bottle of lubricant and pushing Mikoto up by the shoulders to kneel between his legs. The revelation that Mikoto had only recently realised he was interested in men explained a lot- Reisi had begun to wonder if the unbearable sexual tension he believed existed between them was a product of his own imagination, or if it was just one-sided. Apparently, it was neither; Mikoto just hadn’t realised it yet. Something about that was reassuring.

Watching Mikoto intently, Reisi slicked his fingers with the lubricant and reached down between his legs, massaging his entrance with his fingertips, and then slowly pressed one inside himself. Seeing the way Mikoto’s gaze was transfixed on him sent a wave of heat up his spine, and he bit his lip, letting out an exaggerated moan as he thrust the digit inside himself, pushing it deeper with each movement. Mikoto’s reaction made the little show well worth the knock it gave to Reisi’s pride to put on- he hissed in arousal at the sight, his lust written all over him in the way his eyelids fluttered half-closed and his lips hung slightly parted. It wasn’t long before he couldn’t keep his hands off anymore, and he reached down to wrap his fingers around Reisi’s cock and stroke him in time with the movement of his fingers. Reisi thought he saw him shiver at the moan that flooded past his lips. Quickly, he added a second finger, but as much as he loved the sight of Mikoto’s face as he watched him finger himself, he was beginning to wish it was Mikoto’s hand and not his own pleasuring him.

“Nn… D-do you think you have the idea?”

Mikoto nodded, his movements stiff and jerky with arousal as he picked up the bottle of lube from the bed and coated his own fingers hurriedly, then as soon as Reisi had slid his own digits out of himself, Mikoto pressed two inside of him, coaxing an embarrassingly high-pitched moan out of Reisi’s throat.

“Curl your fingers upwards…” Reisi began, but before he could finish the instruction, Mikoto complied, hooking his fingers to stroke them against Reisi’s insides, and he instantly found the spot he’d just been about to tell him about. Reisi’s words were cut off in his throat by a whimper of pleasure, and his back arched clear of the sheets.

“F-fuck…” he hissed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard ya swear before,” Mikoto teased.

“Shut up…”

“Alright,” Mikoto replied, lowering his head to close his lips around the head of Reisi’s cock.

Reisi let out a gasp, bucking his hips involuntarily as his hand shot down to grip Mikoto’s hair. The combination of his fingers thrusting against his sweet spot, the warmth of his mouth, and the fresh wave of belief that he couldn’t really believe this was _happening_ had spots bursting behind Reisi’s eyelids. The last tatters of his pride had fallen away, and he was moaning freely now, writhing under his friend’s touch, clawing at the sheets. Mikoto never took his eyes off Reisi’s face, even as he breathed out a desperate plea for more and cried out as Mikoto pressed a third finger inside him. It was only when Reisi finally broke, and hissed through gritted teeth:

“Fuck me, Suoh…”

that Mikoto finally allowed his eyes to slide closed in a smirk as he lifted his lips off Reisi’s cock and withdrew his fingers.

Once the waves of pleasure had ceased and Reisi realised what he’d said, the mortification caught up with him immediately. He slung an arm over his face in shame, but it didn’t stop him reaching into the bedside drawer once more with the other and pulling out a condom to hand to Mikoto.

“If you’re embarrassed we can st-…”

“No.”

Mikoto chuckled at the abruptness of his refusal as he tore open the package and rolled the condom onto himself, obviously having noticed that Reisi was watching him from through his fingers.

“It’s nice ta see ya let your hair down for once.”

“I didn’t invite you here for a chit-chat,” Reisi grumbled.

Mikoto chuckled, pouring more of the lubricant into his palm and coating the outside of the condom with it. “Say it again,” he murmured, trying but failing to keep a smirk off his face.

“Say what?”

“I think ya know.”

“…Fuck me, Mikoto.”

The next thing Reisi knew, Mikoto’s hands were on his thighs, pulling him down the bed towards him. He felt his breath quicken as Mikoto hurriedly stuffed a pillow under his hips, then leaned forward over him, bracing his hand beside his head and kissing him deeply as he pressed the head of his cock to Reisi’s entrance. Mikoto let out a deep groan as began to push slowly into him, going inch by inch to allow him to adjust, while Reisi whimpered softly in pleasure against Mikoto’s lips, his nails digging into his shoulders at the sensation of his friend pressing inside him and slowly beginning to move.

Their hips rocked against each other tentatively at first, Reisi’s movements shaky and twitchy with pleasure, while Mikoto’s were steady and careful as he pressed a little deeper with each thrust until he was finally fully seated inside him. If Reisi had been embarrassed before about the complete dissolution of his composure, he couldn’t bring himself to care now- the high-pitched whines escaped his lips unhindered as Mikoto moved inside him.

He couldn’t process it all at once; it was too much. The heat of Mikoto’s body pressed to his own, the whisper of his breath across his neck, the low grunts of pleasure, the heady scent of his skin, the friction against his sweet spot, the deep satisfaction of being filled that sent waves of pleasure rippling through his core, and the knowledge that it was all _Mikoto,_ that his more shameful daydreams were coming true in vivid technicolour… it was _too much,_ but he still wanted more.

“You aren’t going to break me S-Suoh…” he hissed.

“Masochist,” Mikoto taunted.

“Why d-do you think I like… Nn… sparring with you so much?”

Mikoto chuckled, then sunk his teeth into Reisi’s shoulder and grabbed his hip roughly, digging his fingertips into the flesh as he sped up his movements, thrusting harder and deeper into him. Reisi let out a cry of ecstasy at the rough treatment, clawing at Mikoto’s back as though for dear life as the feeling of electricity coursing up his spine blurred his vision.

And just like that, the feral hunger that had fuelled those first desperate kisses in the alleyway returned in full fury. Their movements were quick and jerky and rough against one another, their kisses ravenous as their lips and teeth latched onto whatever bare flesh was within reach, Reisi’s nails raked across Mikoto’s shoulders as he cried out in bliss. The pleasure that wracked his body almost burned- it felt too good, almost so good that it was unbearable, and it was relentless. Mikoto showed no mercy as he pounded into Reisi, the sounds escaping his teeth now more animal than human as he growled in Reisi’s ear, fisting his fingers in his hair and tugging his head back to bare his throat and scatter the flesh with love bites. All Reisi could do was throw his legs around Mikoto’s hips, his toes curling as his hips bucked instinctively towards the source of the pleasure. His vision blurred, and the pressure in the pit of his stomach mounted until he couldn’t stand it.

He just managed to stammer out: “M-Mikoto… I’m g-going to…” before his back arched off the sheets and a long groan of ecstasy poured past his lips. His eyes slid closed as the force of his orgasm took him, sending sparks tingling down every one of his nerves and stopping the breath in his throat. Mikoto continued to rock his hips slowly, letting Reisi ride out his orgasm before he slid out of him and pulled off the condom, then wrapped his fingers around his length and pumped himself hurriedly. It only took a few moments before a grunt hitched in his throat and his cum dripped onto Reisi’s stomach, joining the splatter that Reisi had just released onto himself.

They stayed like that for a long moment to recover, Mikoto kneeling beneath Reisi’s thighs, half-buckled over as he panted, while Reisi lay sprawled out on the covers beneath him, little moans still escaping with each exhale as he gasped for breath, exhausted, but more satisfied than he’d ever been.

“Are you quite sure that was your first time?” Reisi said, embarrassed to find he was still breathless.

Mikoto merely smirked, his eyes roaming over the mess they’d left on his friend’s abdomen.

It was a while before Reisi could muster the strength to move, and when he finally did, his legs were trembling so hard that he worried he would fall straight back down onto the mattress again.

“I’m going to clean myself up,” he said as he steadied himself with a hand on the bedside table.

“Need help getting to the bathroom?” Mikoto teased.

For a moment, Reisi was mortified at his own weakness, but he quickly realised that there was nothing more embarrassing about jelly legs than there was about near-screaming beneath his friend as he fucked his brains out, so he resolved to put it out of his mind, giving Mikoto a flippant glare as he turned and made his way carefully towards the bathroom. Besides, he thought, there was something comforting about the still somewhat breathy tone to Mikoto’s voice- it seemed neither of them had quite recovered from their escapades yet.

Reisi was still shaking as he reached the sink to clean himself off, having to brace one hand against the edge of the basin to steady himself. He was completely drained, but it was a good kind of exhaustion; every muscle in his body ached in the sort of satisfying way they would after a good workout. Finally being confronted with his reflection was sort of mortifying, though- his cheeks were pink, his hair was tangled, and the pale skin of his neck was stained in several places with deep violet bruises, but there was something pleasing about knowing the marks had been left by Mikoto, and his friend wore the matching ones on his own throat. 

When Reisi returned from the bathroom, he found Mikoto sitting on the edge of the mattress, having put his boxers back on. He appeared to be staring into some middle distance, but the sound of the bathroom door clicking open seemed to snap him out of it, and he looked up to watch Reisi walk over and sink down on the bed beside him. Without thinking, Reisi leaned against Mikoto’s shoulder, still basking in the supernatural warmth of his skin, and tilted his head up to steal a brief kiss.

Something seemed off though- whereas Mikoto had seemed more than eager to kiss him earlier, his lips were unyielding now, and he seemed stiff and uncomfortable.

“Suoh? Is something wrong?”

“It alright if I smoke in here?”

Reisi lifted an ashtray from the bedside table and offered Mikoto the box of cigarettes that had been resting in it. They each took one, catching them between their lips, and Mikoto leaned in until the tip of his cigarette touched Reisi’s and lit them both with a click of his fingers, then sat back and took a deep drag.

“Suoh,” Reisi pressed. “What is it?”

Mikoto was quiet for a moment, once again staring off into some middle distance, before letting out a deep sigh, watching the smoke curl upwards from his lips. “I think I’m in love with Totsuka,” he said bluntly, and the name, the wrong name, not _his own_ name, cut through Reisi like a blade between his ribs.

He was reeling; it felt as though the floor had vanished from under his feet, but he managed to swallow and force out a response before his silence became suspicious. “I see,” was all he could muster, and he was amazed at how composed his voice sounded- he didn’t feel composed. He didn’t feel at all, really- it was as though he’d become very small within the shell of his own body, and he had no sensation in any of his limbs. His own voice sounded distant, like he was underwater, and the colour was fading slightly from the edge of his vision. “Is this a recent revelation?”

“Right now, I guess. Wasn’t sure if it was just friendly, or if I actually bat for the other team. I guess the answer’s obvious now.”

“So was this just an experiment?” Once again, Reisi was surprised by his own tone- he sounded calm, almost supportive of his friend, but internally, the idea stung like a slap. The thought of being used like that turned his stomach. Suddenly, he felt very exposed, and he found himself reaching to pull the covers over his waist.

“No, didn’t mean it that way. Guess it was an accident- didn’t plan for this or anythin’. Tension built up ‘n’ it just sorta happened.”

There was something slightly comforting about the knowledge that Reisi definitely wasn’t imagining the tension between them, but even so, the reassurance was weak.

When the silence continued for a moment, Mikoto continued: “Glad it did though.”

Reisi nodded slowly, but couldn’t quite summon any words. He was glad it happened too, but he meant that very differently to the way Mikoto did.

“You’re good, ‘n’ it helped me figure some stuff out.”

“Like what?”

“Like the batting for the other team thing. I enjoyed that, so odds are I’m not straight.”

“Which means you can’t explain away your feelings for Totsuka-san as merely platonic anymore, correct?”

“Somethin’ like that.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Dunno.”

“Well, are you going to ask the boy out?” Reisi didn’t know why he was encouraging him. He didn’t want to entertain the thought of Mikoto with someone else, but he had to play the part of the supportive friend, lest Mikoto get suspicious.

“Dunno if he’d be interested.”

“Suoh, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that that boy is not heterosexual.”

“I guess. ‘S more complicated than that though.”

“How so?”

“Don’t wanna frighten him off if he ain’t interested. Izumo calls him my ‘stopper;’ I’d be fucked without him.”

The translation: _I need him, but not you._ If Reisi had been scared away by his advances in the alleyway, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Tatara, on the other hand…

“I doubt he’d be so selfish as to vanish if he wasn’t interested. He cares about you too much. I don’t think he would turn you down, anyway; from the way he acts I would be surprised if he didn’t feel the same way.”

_I know, because that’s how I feel about you too. The way he looks at you is the way I look at you._

“Maybe.”

“You should talk to him. Or perhaps to Kusanagi-san- he spends more time around the two of you; he might have a better insight than I do.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Reisi stubbed out his cigarette and picked his glasses off the bedside table, not looking at his friend, and cleaned the lenses on the sheets before placing them back on the bridge of his nose.

“Sorry,” Mikoto said suddenly.

“Hmm?”

“If I led you on or anythin’.”

“It’s quite alright. Though I should be returning to my work soon.” It was a lie, but he couldn’t bear to look at Mikoto’s face anymore. There was a sort of vulnerability in his expression- the usual smirking mask he wore had cracked, and a hint of the solemn longing he felt was seeping through. Reisi couldn’t stand the sight- not when the longing wasn’t for him, not when he’d likely never get to see this again.

Mikoto nodded, getting to his feet, dropping his cigarette in the ashtray, and gathering his clothes, then without a word, he disappeared into the bathroom.

It took every inch of Reisi’s self-restraint to hold his composure while he waited for Mikoto to clean himself up and get dressed. Nothing could dislodge the echo in his head of the name that wasn’t his own.

_I’m in love with Totsuka._

_Totsuka. Totsuka. Totsuka._

He felt as though his ribcage had been crushed, and the air was seeping out of his lungs whenever he tried to draw breath. He was suffocating on that name.

The most embarrassing part was he hadn’t seen this coming. He’d seen the look in Mikoto’s eyes and he’d believed it was more than what it was, deluded himself into thinking there was something deeper behind the lust. It was foolish and naïve and mortifying.

But even worse was that he couldn’t even hate anyone for it- it wasn’t anyone’s fault. It wasn’t Tatara’s fault for being wanted; it wasn’t Mikoto’s fault for wanting him. It was just shit. All he could feel was hollow. So Reisi was left to drown in the sudden emptiness of having the hope ripped away from him, and there wasn’t even anything to direct his feeling of injustice at, except the universe, and the cruelty of fate.

In a way, this seemed almost the most cruel way it could have gone- to get the chance he’d been craving for… he’d forgotten how long, to finally be with Mikoto, to hold him, to kiss him, to make love to him, to see him vulnerable and to be vulnerable to him. And now he’d had a taste of it, he’d never get to have that again. It was the worst, most atrocious tease.

When Mikoto emerged from the bathroom, his goodbyes were brief, a simple “see ya” before he vanished from the room, the door clicking shut behind him. The sound was unnaturally sharp against the quiet, and then the room was silent again, and far too empty. The air seemed too thin without Mikoto there; Reisi always joked that being around him was like breathing poison, but now he was gone, he craved him. Mikoto was almost a walking version of his own vice- just like the cigarettes they’d left stubbed out in the ashtray, Reisi knew that pining after him was poisonous, but that wasn’t enough to give him the strength kick the addiction that had rooted itself stubbornly in his lungs.

Now Mikoto was gone, and the heavy silence was disconcerting and desolate in the worst possible way. The room seemed colder, darker, without the burning presence of the Red King.

Reisi allowed himself to sink backwards onto the covers, but that only made it worse- the sheets were still damp with sweat, and the smell of Mikoto still clung to them so strongly that it sent another sharp pang through his chest. In a sudden spark of anger, he tore them from the bed, tossing them across the room into a pile on the floor, then collapsed onto the bare mattress as the fury burned itself out once more, smothered by the unrelenting hopelessness.

He didn’t know what he’d even been hoping _for_ \- realistically, he didn’t think a relationship between him and Mikoto would have been sustainable. They were too different as people- the Red King and the Blue King, chaos and order, emotion and reason. They’d just clash, like they always did, and it would end in pain. But Reisi had been willing to try, because Mikoto was worth it to him, and now he’d never even get a chance. It wasn’t even the fact that Mikoto didn’t want _him_ that hurt the most- it was the sting of knowing that there was someone else, someone better, someone who gave Mikoto something he couldn’t.

_The stopper._

While Reisi was one of the only people who could hold his own against Mikoto, he couldn’t help him to control his powers- only give him something to throw them against. It was difficult not to compare himself to Tatara in a situation like this, difficult to drown out the voices that told him: _of_ _course Mikoto would never pick you over him; Tatara is kind and sweet and beautiful, and you’re uptight and unlikeable and terrible with people._ As much as Reisi knew there was nothing to be gained from going down that route, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking those thoughts once he’d started.

It had taken a few minutes after Mikoto left for it to really sink in, but now the full weight of the cold reality had settled over him, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe at all. Every gasp he tried to suck in caught in his throat, until finally a sob tore out of him, and tears stung his eyes as they spilled over his eyelashes.

Reisi couldn’t even remember the last time he cried- but here he was, sobbing over a _boy._ He felt like a teenage schoolgirl; it was mortifying- he was the kind of person who usually prided himself on his decorum and his composure, and now he found himself lying naked on his bare mattress, trying desperately to bite back the sobs, all because of an unrequited crush.

Except he knew that Mikoto wasn’t just some boy, and this wasn’t just some crush. It was Mikoto, and he was so in love with him that it ached. And now he was left with his kisses still tingling on his lips and the knowledge his heart belonged to someone else.

But it didn’t take long before Reisi managed to stifle the sobs and start picking up the pieces of his dignity- ultimately, he realised, there was nothing he could do now, and wallowing in his own misfortune wouldn’t solve anything. So he decided to be pragmatic. More than anything, he wanted Mikoto to be happy, and if he found that with someone else… Reisi could deal with the sting for a while. Eventually, he’d get over him. Probably.

Until then, though, he resolved he’d adopt a fake-it-until-you-make-it approach, and with a sigh, he picked himself up off the blankets and headed to the shower to wash the smell of Mikoto off his skin, hoping the cold water would calm the inevitable swelling around his eyes. At the end of the day, he was a King, and he had work to do- he couldn’t afford to let this knock him down, as much as he wanted to stay locked away in that bedroom forever and pretend nothing had changed. He had no choice but to push through. So he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and put his uniform back on, covering the marks on his throat with his cravat, then took a deep breath and unlocked the bedroom door. Burst the bubble, rip off the band aid. The clichés spun around and around in his head, but didn’t hold any meaning.

Still, if there was one thing Reisi was good at, it was keeping up appearances, and if he pretended that it didn’t bother him for long enough, then eventually, it wouldn’t- the illusion of composure would become the reality, and the pain would fade, just like the marks that Mikoto left his throat inevitably would. Or, so he hoped, at least.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have anything to say about this fic except that I'm really s or ry
> 
> Edit: By popular demand I'm gonna write a continuation of this fic- looks like it'll be multi-chapter (at the minute the plan is for around 6-7 chapters but I always vastly underestimate my chapter counts) and actually give it a happy ending for everyone involved this time!! Thank you for all the support on the first chapter <3
> 
> Tags and description etc will be updated as the fic progresses!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By popular demand, I'm continuing this fic to give it a less horrifically sad ending. Looks like it's going to end up with about 6 chapters at the moment, but I'm almost always wrong on my chapter count estimates. Tags will be updated as the fic progresses to avoid spoilers.
> 
> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/161221096789/composure-part-2)

When Mikoto arrived back at the bar from Sceptre 4’s headquarters, it was mostly empty, except for Tatara, who was napping on the sofa as he usually did during quiet afternoons.

“Oi,” Mikoto said as he sat down on the couch beside him. “I told ya not to sleep in here.”

Tatara, roused by his voice, looked up groggily and gave his friend a dopey, half-awake smile that made Mikoto’s chest feel tight. “I was just napping…” he protested weakly, interrupted by a yawn part-way through the sentence.

“There’s a bed upstairs. You’ll get sore sleeping on the couch.”

“You’re starting to sound like Kusanagi-san~. Since when do you care so much?”

Mikoto shrugged. “Difficult enough takin’ care of you when you don’t have a bad back.”

“Now you just sound like an old man~,” Tatara teased, sitting up with the blanket still draped around his shoulders like a cape. As he did so, he seemed to catch sight of something, and the sleepiness vanished from his expression to be replaced immediately by a look of intrigue.

“Is that…?” he asked, tilting his head as he stared at Mikoto’s throat, and then he reached up to pull back the collar of his shirt to reveal more of the mark he’d spotted. “I thought so! King, why are you covered in love bites?”

“Got laid,” Mikoto said with a shrug.

“Yes, I gathered that. Tell me the juicy details! Who’s the lucky lady?”

“We’re in the middle of the bar,” Mikoto protested in a deadpan voice- it wasn’t a conversation he especially wanted his clan to walk in on, especially not Anna, or worse, Izumo. If Izumo found out about this he’d never hear the end of it. And he didn’t need Misaki finding out he’d fucked the Blue King either- he still harboured a grudge against Sceptre 4 for what he perceived as stealing Saruhiko, and Mikoto didn’t particularly want to deal with the inevitable reproachful looks he’d get for ‘sleeping with the enemy.’

“Then tell me upstairs where we won’t get interrupted,” Tatara insisted, immediately on his feet and seizing Mikoto’s wrist to pull him upstairs. Mikoto couldn’t say no to that face, and with a sigh, he stood up and allowed Tatara to tow him up to the apartment above the bar. The pair took a seat on the sofa in Mikoto’s room, and Tatara gave him an expectant look, repeating his earlier question:

“So who _is_ the lucky lady?”

“Munakata.”

Tatara took a moment to digest this information, a look that was half intrigued and half scandalised crossing his face. Finally, he burst out: “How didn’t I figure out you were into men? The accessories should have at least given me a clue!” he complained, more to himself than to Mikoto, and as he spoke, he reached out and brushed the necklace Mikoto wore with his fingertip, seeming exasperated. “And the hair, the skinny jeans…”

“Isn’t that stereotyping?”

“Shush, I’m gay; we know the signs. I’m annoyed I never saw them before.”

“You’re gay?” Mikoto said in mock surprise.

Tatara stuck his tongue out at him.

“If it’s any consolation, I didn’t figure it out until this morning anyway. Not really.”

“So you screwed a guy while you thought you were straight?” Tatara raised an eyebrow at him.

“I had suspicions. Screwing a guy confirmed them.”

“I see… so it was just an experiment then?” Tatara said, but there was an odd quality to his voice, almost reproving.

“Didn’t intend it to be that way.”

“How did it even happen?”

“We were fighting, he had me pinned against a wall, and then we were kissing. He took me back to HQ and we fucked.”

“And you don’t have any romantic feelings towards him? Don’t wanna date him or make this a regular thing?” He almost sounded… jealous? No, that wasn’t possible.

“Don’t think so.”

“King!” Tatara sounded scandalised.

“What?”

“That’s awful!”

“What’s wrong with casual sex?” Mikoto’s eyebrows creased in the middle at Tatara’s judgemental tone.

“Nothing, but that wasn’t what it was to him!”

“What d’you mean?”

“Honestly, King, if you can’t tell that Munakata has a crush on you from twenty paces…”

“…Really?” Mikoto’s stomach dropped.

“I’d bet 10,000 yen on it.”

“…Ah.”

“…What?”

“How can you tell?”

“He looks at you like… well like someone who has a crush on you!  I don’t know, anyone who’s not completely socially inept would tell you the same thing. Ask Kusanagi, I bet he’ll agree with me. And he has connections; he’s totally screwing the Blues’ Lieutenant- she’ll definitely know.”

Mikoto was quiet for a moment as a pang of guilt twisted in the pit of his stomach. That explained the odd look on Reisi’s face as he’d left that morning. How badly it must have hurt him… Mikoto could only imagine how he would have felt if he’d slept with Tatara only for him to tell him he was in love with someone else immediately afterwards. And the most humiliating thing was that Mikoto had no idea that Reisi felt that way until it was too late and the damage was done. He felt like an idiot. Maybe he and Reisi never quite saw eye to eye with one another as Blue King and Red King, but as Reisi and Mikoto… he had to admit he was fond of his counterpart. Maybe in different circumstances they would have been good friends. He’d certainly never had any intention of bringing harm on him, not like this.

“…What’s that look for?” Tatara asked sceptically. “Don’t tell me it gets even worse…”

Mikoto sighed. “I told him after that I’d figured out my sexuality ‘cause of it.”

Tatara narrowed his eyes, sensing an unspoken second half to that sentence. It was eerie how clearly Tatara could see right through him. “And…?”

“…And I told him ‘cause I figured out my sexuality with him, I figured out there was another guy...”

“So let me get this straight. You slept with Munakata, and then told him that you like someone else, but you weren’t sure you liked that person romantically because you didn’t know you were into guys until you slept with Munakata?”

Mikoto grimaced slightly at the word choice- _liked_ felt so middle-school, so incapable of encompassing what he felt for Tatara, but now wasn’t the time to protest. “Yeah, something like that. I didn’t do it as an experiment, it just sorta happened, and figuring it out was a side effect.”

 “Oh, King… That’s still really messed up...”

“I know that now.”

“You need to apologise to him.”

“Wouldn’t it just embarrass him to know I know he feels that way?”

“He probably feels like crap, so at this point exceptions should be made- you’d do more good by apologising than bad by embarrassing him. So you really should go and talk to him.”

Mikoto sighed, then nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

Tatara caught his gaze- Mikoto hadn’t been making eye contact with him- and he gave him a sympathetic look. “Don’t beat yourself up too much. You didn’t know.”

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t shitty,” Mikoto replied, looking away once more.

“Let him get a few extra free punches in the next time you two have one of your King Battle Extravaganzas, might make him feel a bit better,” Tatara said light-heartedly.

Mikoto gave a half-hearted chuckle at the suggestion.

“…So who is it you told him you liked?”

Mikoto tried his best to keep a blank expression as he shrugged and said: “Doesn’t matter.”

“You’re worried about hurting them,” Tatara said, more of a statement than a question.

Mikoto had been avoiding his eyes as best he could until this point, but he couldn’t help but look up at Tatara in astonishment at that comment. No matter how many times it happened, it was still somewhat unnerving to Mikoto when Tatara did that- stared straight through him as if his every thought was written upon his skin. He had no idea how Tatara could have worked out that part of the reason he didn’t want to mention anything to ‘his love interest’ was that he didn’t want to put him in harm’s way- first it had just been because of how dangerous his powers were, but now after what he’d done to Reisi…

Mikoto sighed again- part of him had been worried Tatara might figure out it was him that he’d told Reisi he was in love with, but thankfully he showed no sign of suspicion.

“This doesn’t make you a bad guy, King. You didn’t know, and you didn’t mean for any of this. Just go and talk to him, clear the air, and you’ll both feel better, okay?”

“Okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll with this fic  
> Thank you RoseGiaco for the suggestion of including Seri!!
> 
> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/161286209789/composure-part-3)

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite that simple. Now that Mikoto knew Reisi had feelings for him, it had altered his perspective both of Reisi himself, and of what had happened between them.

On a basic level, Mikoto couldn’t deny that he’d enjoyed the physical aspect of what happened between them- Reisi was objectively a very attractive man, and very good in bed. But beyond that, having been forced to reflect on it, he also had to accept that the two of them had chemistry; if they didn’t, the tension wouldn’t have built up between them like it had and Mikoto wouldn’t have ended up nearly fucking him in an alleyway. But aside from that, when they weren’t at odds over King business, they had a reasonably good rapport with one another. Even when they were fighting, Mikoto enjoyed their banter, and he couldn’t help but notice that from time to time it strayed into flirtier territory, but he’d just thought it was a joke before. And when they saw each other whilst ‘off-duty’ (as rare as that was), they got on very well.

Acknowledging this was making things very confusing for Mikoto; it raised uncomfortable questions about what the implications of all that were, and whether or not he would want to do it again under different circumstances. And it raised even more uncomfortable answers.

Almost overnight, Reisi had quickly become the central theme of his every intrusive thought; he found himself dreaming about him more nights than not, fantasising about him as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness- some of the thoughts were simply sexual, but some were more romantic- kissing him, even simply spending time with him…

He didn’t really have a crush, did he? He was the Red King; he didn’t do schoolboy-ish things like that.

But he still missed the way Reisi’s hands and his lips had felt against him, still had a guilty desire to see him again under similar circumstances. Except he didn’t want to see him at the same time, because he didn’t know how he would face him after what he’d done. It was odd- they could fight until both of them were bloodied and bruised and aching and Reisi could lecture him about Sanctums and Weismann levels until the cows came home and they would clash inevitably over Mikoto’s carelessness, and then the next day they would act as if everything was fine. They smiled as they called each other irritating- a stick in the mud, reckless, like breathing toxic air. Because they knew it didn’t _really_ hurt.

But this wasn’t like that. This wasn’t simply a professional difference of opinion. Mikoto had actually _hurt_ him; now he knew that that look in Reisi’s eye as Mikoto had left his room had been pain, the expression haunted him at every inopportune moment. The stab of guilt in his abdomen had become a constant stomach ache. It was exhausting.

Mikoto was a very direct person. Trivialities and empty politeness meant nothing to him. In any other circumstance, he would have gone straight to Tsubaki-Mon and explained himself. Except there was one snag, and it was Tatara.

Even with all this dreaming and fantasising and what Mikoto refused to call _crushing_ , his feelings for Tatara had never faded. How could he feel like this about two people at the same time? Granted, he wouldn’t quite call what he felt for Reisi _love,_ but it rang with the echoes of how he’d felt when he was falling for Tatara, and if he allowed this to go on much longer…

How could he choose?

Not that he ever intended to; as far as he was concerned, both of them were better off without him.

But still, while he wanted to see Reisi, he also really _didn’t_ want to see him. He didn’t know what to say to him to remedy what he’d done, but part of him also didn’t want to face him and risk these feelings getting any stronger- even if he never intended to act on them, he was the Red King, and he refused to be the kind of person who fretted over which boy he liked more. He was too old for that. So he kept putting it off and putting it off until it had been over a week, and then two. They’d seen each other in passing out on clan business, but Reisi had been cold and overly-polite; there was none of their usual friendly banter, and each glimpse of his face brought another stab of guilt in Mikoto’s gut, but also a faint effervescent feeling in his chest, like a balloon inflating, and it was becoming harder to ignore that this was exactly what he’d felt when he looked at Tatara while he was falling for him. It was still how he felt when he looked at him now.

This was all becoming far too complicated, and Mikoto wasn’t good at complicated.

* * *

 

When Tatara noticed Reisi’s aloof demeanour when the two clans had crossed paths, he deduced that Mikoto still hadn’t apologised, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much, but he felt compelled to do _something._ Mikoto seemed to be quietly tearing himself apart over what happened, but his reaction was confusing to Tatara- he seemed far too distressed about the whole thing. Nobody else in Homra would have noticed it, but Tatara could sense a vibe about Mikoto that was just… _off._ He was subdued, or at least more so than usual, and to the untrained eye, it seemed as though he was taking more naps than he normally did, but Tatara could tell he wasn’t actually sleeping, merely lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Tatara decided something needed to be done; if nothing else, he thought it was important for Mikoto to have friends outside of Homra, and he didn’t want the rift between him and Reisi to grow so deep that it became irreparable.

So he found himself outside the imposing gates of Sceptre 4’s headquarters, twiddling his thumbs as he worked up the courage to press the button on the intercom. However, it seemed he’d been spotted by the security camera before he’d had the chance, and a tinny voice sounded from the speakers.

“Do you have business with Annex 4?”

“Ahh, yes… It’s Totsuka Tatara, from Homra. I’ve come to see Munakata Reisi with a message from the Red King.”

There was a pause, then the gates swung open smoothly and the voice over the intercom said: “Someone will meet you in the lobby and take you up.”

The courtyard of Sceptre 4’s headquarters was a vast, almost intimidating expanse of white marble tiles, reminiscent of the courtyard of some European stately home. It took just long enough to make one nervous to cross it on the way to the double doors, which swung smoothly open for him. Waiting just inside the lobby was Awashima Seri, her arms folded across her chest.

“A little way off the beaten track, aren’t you?” she said coolly.

“Clan business,” he replied, equally calmly. There was a sort of sour look on Seri’s place, as if she was displeased by something.  “It’s not as though you aren’t at Homra every other week,” he countered as the doors closed behind him and he crossed the lobby, a lavish, high-ceilinged room with Grecian columns and even more marble.

“I know why you’re here,” she said, lowering her voice as she gestured for Tatara to follow her up the grand staircase in the centre of the room. “Suoh Mikoto arrived at Sceptre 4 in handcuffs and left two hours later covered in love bites; it doesn’t take a genius to work out what happened. And ever since then, the Captain has been acting… strange. As though something is bothering him. I’ve never seen him this subdued.”

“Handcuffs? King didn’t mention that…”

Seri clicked her tongue in exasperation. “Your King did something to upset him and I want to know what.”

“That’s not really my secret to share,” Tatara said, rubbing the back of his head. “Plus, if I tell you, you’ll tell Kusanagi-san, and King is getting enough grief from himself without a lecture from his best friend.”

“So he does feel bad?”

“Of course. I think that’s why he hasn’t come and apologised earlier; he’s too ashamed of what he did to face him.”

“I didn’t know the Red King showed any emotions aside from flippancy.”

“Ouch. Kusanagi is right when he calls you the cold-hearted woman, you know.”

“The Captain is my friend, and he’s too polite to stand up for himself. I feel I ought to give Suoh a slap on his behalf,” she grumbled.

“He does show emotion, you know. It’s just difficult to read unless you know him well. He cares about Munakata.”

“Apparently not enough.”

“He didn’t know that what he was doing would hurt him; it was just a miscommunication. That’s why I’m here- to smooth things out and lay a path for them to reconcile. King isn’t really a talking-things-out sort of person, but I know he wants to apologise.”

Seri sighed as she led him up one of the crimson-carpeted hallways.

“You ought to give him the benefit of the doubt, just for now,” Tatara said softly.

“I’m reasonably sure Munakata has feelings for him, and that’s why he’s so upset by all this,” she replied, not looking Tatara in the eye.

“I know. Anyone with an ounce of social awareness can tell that. Unfortunately King isn’t really a people person; I think he’s the only one who _didn’t_ know.”

Seri sighed again, coming to a stop outside a grand mahogany door. “Just… make sure they make up. I can’t stand to see the Captain in this state.”

“I’ll do my best,” he replied, resting a hand on her shoulder for a brief moment in what he hoped was a reassuring way. She responded with what could have been a flicker of a smile, though if Tatara had blinked he would have missed it, before knocking on the door to the office.

“Captain, you have a visitor.”

“Come in,” came Reisi’s reply from within the room.

The two clansmen exchanged brief nods, then Seri turned on her heel and headed back down the corridor as Tatara pushed open the door. He didn’t miss the way the corner of Reisi’s mouth twitched in disdain as he entered the room.

“Take a seat.” Reisi’s tone was blank. Tatara was no stranger to the fact that Reisi wasn’t exactly his _biggest_ fan; he knew he took issue with his recklessness and how often he got himself into danger, mostly because of how much it worried Mikoto whenever Tatara narrowly escaped ending up in the hospital, and the subsequent effect that had on his Weismann level.

Obediently, Tatara sat down, trying to keep his expression positive. His gaze wandered around the office, partly to avoid Reisi’s piercing gaze, and partly to look for some way to break the ice before he launched into the somewhat awkward topic he’d come to talk about. His eyes quickly settled on the jigsaw puzzle laid out on the floor behind the desk- it was immense, with what looked to be thousands of small pieces, and mostly complete. It depicted a photograph of the night sky, with the Milky Way galaxy strewn across the centre of the image like a paint splatter.

“That’s a beautiful puzzle…” Tatara said softly, and Reisi appeared initially caught off-guard, but he perked up slightly at the mention of his hobby.

“I took the photograph myself on a trip to Hawaii; atop the mountain on the largest island is a prime location for viewing the night sky due to the altitude and low light pollution, and there are a collection of observatories there…” he trailed off, seeming to realise he was rambling.

“So you’re a photographer?” Tatara brightened at the knowledge of their shared hobby.

“I’ve dabbled in the past,” he said, then paused to clear his throat before asking: “So what brings you here?”

“I came to apologise on my King’s behalf for what happened the other week; he didn’t mean any harm.”

“It is not necessary for you to apologise for him. You are not his keeper; Suoh is old enough to be responsible for his own actions.”

“I know, but he’s… I don’t know, he seems almost too ashamed to come and do it himself. He does want to, but I think he’s embarrassed, to be perfectly honest. He didn’t know you had feelings for him; he’s not good at reading people.”

“And what makes you think I have feelings for him.”

“Not to toot my own horn or anything, but quite good at reading people, and it’s written all over you.” He paused for a moment, then added: “And I guess I know how you feel. Well, not really, I can’t say I’ve ever had the opportunity of getting between the sheets with him, but I feel the same way about him as you do, and we’re both in the predicament of liking him while he likes someone else…”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Reisi cut in, raising an eyebrow.

“He told me that he said to you there was someone he liked after… you know.”

“…The person Suoh told me he was interested in romantically was you.”

 _“…Oh._ ”

Tatara didn’t really know what to do with that information; he hadn’t expected it in the slightest. It had never even crossed his mind that it could be him; he’d had his suspicions it might be Izumo, or perhaps even Misaki, but himself? He hadn’t even dared to hope Mikoto might feel the same way about him as he did.

“…Well now I feel like an idiot,” he said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. _Of course_ this had to come out right after he’d claimed to be good at reading people. And he’d come to try and console Reisi, but he supposed he was the last person he wanted to see right now. Tatara couldn’t help but feel somewhat mortified.

Reisi sighed. “Of course it’s you Suoh is attracted to. You are his best friend, and his ‘stopper,’ and pardon me but you’re quite beautiful.”

Tatara felt his cheeks flush faintly. “Well, it’s not like I couldn’t say the same thing about you,” he protested. “For starters, you’re _mind-blowingly_ attractive. You’re tall and you’ve got the pretty blue eyes and the big muscles and _everyone’s_ weak for a guy in uniform. And you’re King’s friend too, and you’re just as much his stopper as I am.” He wasn’t quite sure what had possessed him to point this out; perhaps it was partly because he couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea that Mikoto had feelings for him, and he was trying to object to the idea- it seemed too good to be true.

“How am I his stopper?”

“Well I just help him keep it all in, but King can’t suppress his powers forever; it has to come out sometime. And when it does, you’re the only person who’s an equal match for him. It’s only with you that he can really let loose without worrying about hurting someone. You shouldn’t get knocked down by what happened- you’re important to Mikoto. Hell, he trusted you enough to get down and dirty, and to tell you about his feelings. He doesn’t open up to people very often; that’s really big. And no matter what, you give Mikoto something nobody else can.”

Reisi sighed, looking down at the desk, but it was clear that Tatara’s words had struck a chord in him. He was quiet for a long moment, appearing to mull over what had been said, before he finally looked up and cleared his throat. “I’m afraid I must cut our visit short; I have some business that needs attending to. Thank you for stopping by.”

Tatara got to his feet, offering his hand to shake, and Reisi took it. “Of course. Thanks for seeing me,” he said, shooting Reisi his trademark bright smile before he turned to leave the room.

When the door had closed behind his visitor, Reisi let out another sigh. There was something unnerving about how that boy could see right through him, and somehow managed to say exactly what he needed to hear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr. ](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/161475550549/composure-part-4)
> 
> Chapter count updated because I planned an epilogue on a whim.

“By the way, what was Totsuka doin’ at Sceptre 4?” Izumo’s question was casual, dropped into the middle of a conversation, but Tatara’s visit was news to Mikoto, and he sighed in exasperation.

“He was there?”

“Yeah, Seri-chan mentioned seeing him earlier today.”

Mikoto shrugged. “Dunno. Didn’t tell me he was going.” That was only half true- while Tatara hadn’t told Mikoto his plans, Mikoto knew exactly why he’d visited.

“Huh, ‘s weird,” Izumo replied, but said nothing more of it, which Mikoto was grateful for.

He stared at the ceiling, mulling over the fact that Tatara had forced his hand, though whether that was intentional or not Mikoto couldn’t say. But the reality was that he couldn’t just sit here after Tatara had been to apologise on his behalf. Reisi probably thought badly enough of him without the person he probably wanted to see the least out of anyone showing Mikoto up- what kind of an impression did it give that _Tatara_ of all people had visited, but not Mikoto himself? Not that Mikoto was usually one to concern himself with impressions, but this was one of those scenarios that called for a special exception. He didn’t need to drag his own name any further through the mud in Reisi’s eyes than he already had, not if he wanted to keep him as a friend.

So once the bar had started to get busier for the evening and nobody would notice him leaving, Mikoto shrugged on his jacket and headed for Tsubaki-Mon, choosing to walk the distance in the hope the steady rhythm of his footsteps would quiet his chattering mind. But that didn’t work as well as he’d hoped; what-ifs and worst case scenarios were still spinning at a thousand miles an hour as he reached the Blue clan’s headquarters.  

When he arrived at the entrance to the compound, Mikoto didn’t have to ring the bell or explain his purpose; the gates opened for him, as did the doors of the building, without him having to say a word. Nobody met him in the lobby to escort him to Reisi’s office, but he knew the way. Though he did notice the Lieutenant leaning against the banister of the staircase, giving him a cold glare as he passed. Perhaps he’d been less subtle about his hook-up than he thought.

When he knocked on the door of Reisi’s office, there was a pause that felt far longer than it actually was, followed by a call of:

“Who is it?”

Normally Mikoto would have made a joke at that point, but it didn’t feel appropriate. “Suoh,” he answered simply.

There was another silence, before he heard: “Come in,” uttered in a professional tone, and Mikoto opened the door.

Reisi’s expression was smooth as he watched Mikoto enter. He was sitting upright in his chair, his back straight and his hands folded on the desk before him, as though Mikoto was there for a job interview rather than a personal visit. As his guest crossed the room, Reisi got to his feet, rounding his desk to stand the same side of it as Mikoto and leaning his hip against the chair.

“Suoh,” he said coolly, by way of greeting, and Mikoto nodded in acknowledgement.

“I think you know why I’m here,” he said, pulling a box of cigarettes from his pocket and taking one himself before offering the box to Reisi. It was partly a peace offering, but also partly to calm himself down- he wasn’t nervous as such, but he wasn’t entirely sure how best to go about this conversation, and he hoped the nicotine would clear his head.

Reisi took a cigarette from the open box offered to him, but retrieved a lighter from his drawer and lit it himself, rather than allowing Mikoto to do so with his aura.

“Perhaps,” he said finally.

“Someone told me that what happened meant something different to you than to me.”

“Yes, I think it did.”

“If I knew I wouldn’t’ve done it.” There was an uncomfortable pause. “I didn’t want to lead you on or use you.” It was difficult to voice even those simple sentiments; Mikoto felt exposed, and his voice was stiff. He didn’t do well at sharing his emotions; that was why he leant so much on Tatara: because Tatara just read them off him like an autocue, and he didn’t have to go through this struggle to put these things into words. But he reasoned with himself if he felt exposed now, it was nothing compared to what he’d put Reisi through, so he forced the words out.

“You couldn’t have known,” Reisi said, but his tone was noncommittal, unconvinced.

Mikoto gave a stiff nod, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say next, so he opted for weak humour and hoped for the best: “You don’t hate me completely, do you?”

The silence before Reisi replied lasted a fraction of a second too long. “No. But it is going to sting for a while, no matter whether I am logically aware of what your intentions were.”

Mikoto nodded, grunting in understanding.

“Have you asked Totsuka out yet?”

The question caught Mikoto off-guard. “No.”

“Why not?”

Mikoto clicked his tongue. “Wouldn’t feel right.” He chose not to elaborate any further on the reasons why.

“You ought to go for it- Totsuka will not turn you down.”

Mikoto gave a humourless chuckle, half-wary this was some sort of revenge attempt. If it was, he would have understood, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sore spot for Reisi to be poking at. “How can you be so sure?”

“He has feelings for you.”

“How do you know?” Mikoto couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. He didn’t think Reisi was the type to sink low enough to use a lie like this as ammunition, and as much as Mikoto knew he sort of deserved it, the false hope left a sour taste in his mouth. He could feel himself becoming irritated.

“He told me.” Reisi was looking directly into his eyes as he spoke. And he was definitely telling the truth.

Mikoto was quiet for a moment, processing the information. If only knowing Tatara wanted him too made things easier. In another universe, where he wasn’t a King and he didn’t have a Sword of Damocles and he’d never met Munakata Reisi, maybe it would have. But Mikoto was never that lucky, and things were never that simple.

When Mikoto didn’t say anything, Reisi continued: “He was trying to empathise with me, and he disclosed that he was like me, in that we both had feelings for you but you wanted someone else. He had no idea the person you told me you wanted was him.”

Mikoto felt a stab of guilt at that.

“So I told him that he was the one you had feelings for,” Reisi said, deadpan.

“What?” A spark of anger flared in Mikoto’s chest. He’d never wanted Tatara to know; as much as he hated the self-sacrificing stereotype, Mikoto was very aware of the dangers of his powers, both of losing control of them, and the enemies he had because of them. He couldn’t stand the thought of hurting Tatara, or someone hurting him to get to Mikoto, so he’d planned to keep his distance, keep his feelings buried and never act on them. And now Tatara knew, and Mikoto wouldn’t be strong enough to turn him down if he felt the same. He hadn’t even intended to tell Reisi, but in the turmoil of figuring out that the feelings that he’d been torturing himself over for months really were romantic, he really was _in love_ with Tatara, it had just sort of… slipped out.

“Why?” Mikoto demanded.

“Because he’s a nice young man, and he doesn’t deserve to be put through the same thing you put me through: of being in love with someone he thinks is in love with someone else. You ought to go for it, and stop stringing the poor boy along.” There was an edge to Reisi’s voice; he couldn’t quite disguise the spite. Mikoto had never seen Reisi like this before, never seen him _genuinely_ angry. He was always so composed, so professional. It stung to know he’d done this to him.

Mikoto had to grit his teeth to keep his tone civil. His hands had curled into fists at his sides. “It’s not that simple.”

“It could not get any more simple! You want him, he wants you. What could possibly be stopping you from seeking happiness? And don’t you dare come out with any of that self-martyring tripe about how you’re afraid of hurting him. You weren’t so careful about not hurting me, and it hurts far more to love someone and know that you can’t have them.”

Something in Mikoto snapped. He tasted copper on the back of his tongue, and a flash of white hot rage shot down his spine. Without realising what he was doing, he closed the space between them and seized Reisi by the collar, half-snarling:

“Don’t tell me I don’t care about you.”

Reisi’s eyes widened suddenly, the sharp spite that had burned in them a moment ago vanishing in favour of what looked to be shock. His voice was quieter and less confrontational when he next spoke, the hurt beginning to show through his anger. “Then prove it.”

Mikoto didn't know what possessed him to do it, but the next thing he knew, his fingers were tangled in Reisi's hair and he was kissing him. But it was different from the first time; it wasn't heated or passionate, not a simple release of built-up sexual tension. The kiss was firm, and beneath it there smouldered a sort of longing, almost sadness.

Reisi froze in shock at first, then raised his hands instinctively to grip Mikoto's arms as if he intended to push him away. But he didn't; as the initial surprise passed, he couldn't stop himself from melting into the contact, allowing his arms to snake around Mikoto's shoulders and grip the back of his jacket, the same desperate longing burning in his own touch as in Mikoto's. He was conflicted- that much was obvious by the tension in his shoulders, but his desire to indulge the fantasy seemed to outweigh his instinct for self-preservation.

When they finally broke apart and Reisi opened his eyes, a storm of emotions flickered across his features in quick succession; shame, and then heartbreak, and then finally mounting anger, but before he had a chance to shout at Mikoto for doing it _again,_ drawing out this torture even further, Mikoto spoke, his voice low and quiet:

“That’s why it’s not simple. I can’t…” _choose between you and Tatara._ The unspoken words hung uncomfortably in the air.

Reisi’s anger evaporated. It made sense now why Mikoto had put off coming to apologise for so long: his feelings had changed since their encounter, and now he was conflicted.

Which meant Reisi had a chance. And he didn’t know how that made him feel. The idea that this maybe wasn’t all for nought, that there was hope that one day Mikoto might truly feel the same for him, released the crushing pressure from Reisi’s ribcage that he’d almost gotten used to; he’d been just-about-coping with for so long that he nearly didn’t notice the feeling anymore. And now, the possibility of quieting the chronic ache of unrequited love seemed almost too good to be true.

Which was exactly the problem- what good was hope if it was false hope? What if Mikoto said all this, and then still chose Tatara? It would only crush Reisi all over again, and he didn’t know if he could withstand a second blow. He’d barely been able to keep up appearances the first time.

Mikoto didn’t meet Reisi’s eye as he allowed him to absorb the information. They were both quiet for a moment, until Reisi couldn’t bare the silence anymore, and he pulled Mikoto in by the grip he still had on his arms to kiss him again, finding himself unable to care about the consequences. If Mikoto could be selfish, then so could he, and Reisi decided that if he was going to be tortured by false hope he should at least make the most of it while he could. Mikoto yielded to the kiss- he never had been one for self-control, even if the thing he wanted was only going to hurt him- and when they finally broke apart, there was a glimmer of yearning in his eyes, subtle and wistful. It seemed all this longing and indecision was really tearing him to pieces.

_Good._

As much as Reisi was head over heels for him, he couldn’t help but take just a little bit of sadistic pleasure in the knowledge that Mikoto was suffering- part of him felt like he deserved it after what he was putting him through. An even smaller part of him felt guilty for feeling that way, but it was quite small indeed. Mostly, he just felt awful to know that Mikoto’s indecision was likely going to burn him again soon when he finally resolved it, tear away that last shred of hope this afternoon had given him.

Apparently, Reisi’s dismay at that thought had shown through in his expression, because he saw Mikoto’s face falter, almost imperceptibly. Reisi had never seen a vulnerable emotion show on Mikoto’s face- never seen a hint of sadness or fear, and even when he was enraged, you’d barely know he was a little irritated from his facial expression. But in that moment, he looked exposed, almost ashamed. It was subtle, but the slight downward curve of his mouth, the crease between his brows, and the dimness of his eyes betrayed him. Reisi noticed the way Mikoto was staring back at him, his melancholy gaze flickering from his own to drop to his lips every so often, until he screwed his eyes shut and turned suddenly on his heel.

“I have to go,” he said simply, striding towards the door and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Reisi was amazed at his ability to remain cool as he replied with a simple: “Goodbye,” ignoring the tingle Mikoto’s lips had left on his own.

And he’d thought knowing he could never have him had been cruel.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/161961212229/composure-part-5).
> 
> I may have gotten slightly carried away on the wordcount of this one oops.

If Mikoto’s intentions before had been to see Reisi and talk things out, apologise, now it seemed he simply wanted to avoid him. Reisi had heard through the grape vine that he’d barely even been seen around Homra for the past week- he spent most of his time locked up in his room above the bar. Seri had said his clansmen seemed to think Mikoto was ill, not that he’d ever had so much as a sniffle in all the time they’d known him.

But Reisi had a suspicion that he himself was the reason for Mikoto isolating himself; he’d seen how conflicted he’d seemed when he came to Sceptre 4’s headquarters a week ago, and his indecision only seemed to have gotten worse after they kissed again. Part of Reisi sort of felt smug about the fact he’d had this strong on effect on the Red King- even now he knew that Mikoto had started to feel differently, he still couldn’t quite get over the sting of that initial rejection, and he drew a sort of spiteful satisfaction from knowing that Mikoto’s feelings for him were bothering him as much as Reisi was bothered by his own feelings for Mikoto.

Unfortunately though, life didn’t slow down for Reisi’s heartache- as much as part of him would have wanted to take a week off to wallow in his own self-pity like Mikoto had, he had work to do. In some ways, it was a blessing in disguise; his schedule was always busy, and Reisi’s workload helped to keep his mind off things.

It had been about a week and a half since Mikoto’s visit when Reisi received a call about a strain causing trouble- normally, he would have sent one of his clansmen to deal with a case of this level, but he was in the area anyway so he decided he might as well go. But as he travelled to the scene, another call came in from Seri that made him glad he’d decided to take the task upon himself; there had been reports saying the strain may have been seen using the green aura, and was in pursuit of a Red clansman. If the Greens were recruiting strains then that was a development Reisi wasn’t pleased with, and any strain that was too much for one of Homra’s boys to deal with was bound to be dangerous. Reisi sent for backup to take the strain back into custody once it had been subdued, then parked up in the area it had last been seen: one of the shady estates in a rather less reputable area of Shizume city.

It wasn’t difficult to find the strain; a flash of green light from an alley caught Reisi’s eye, and he broke into a run, his hand on the hilt of his sword. As he rounded the corner, he saw the perpetrator: a hunched, broad-shouldered man whose arms were covered in thick, dark hair. He sounded as though he was snarling; judging by that and his appearance he was clearly some kind of canine strain. More alarming, though, was that the reports had been correct: his hands were crackling with the green aura- it was weak, clearly not the powers given to any high-ranking member, but Jungle recruiting strains was still a troublesome development.

As quietly as he could, Reisi crept up behind the strain, who clearly had someone cornered against the dumpsters, but Reisi couldn’t see past him to see who it was. He drew his sword silently to press the tip of it to the back of the strain’s neck, and he saw him freeze in surprise at the touch of the cold metal.

“Under the authority of Sceptre 4, I order you to stand down.”

The strain turned his head to fix its yellow eyes on him, and for the first time Reisi could see the person it had attacked- Tatara was on the ground, his cheek bloodied and grazed, but he otherwise didn’t seem too badly injured. That explained why the Red clansman he’d been told about had been having so much trouble with what appeared to be a regular common class strain- Tatara wasn’t exactly a fighter.

The strain let out another growl, turning suddenly and slapping the blade away to lunge at Reisi, but he was quickly incapacitated by a swift blow to the temple with the hilt of his sword. He crumpled, knocked out cold at the impact, and Reisi tittered, then sheathed his blade and offered his hand to Tatara, who took it gratefully and got to his feet.

“Are you alright?”

“Thanks to you…” Tatara said sheepishly.

“You ought to be more careful.”

“I think I’m sort of a trouble magnet, I guess.”

“If you’re aware of that fact, then you should take more preventative measures. Such as not walking alone through the more disreputable areas of the city.”

“Noted...” He rubbed the back of his head, abashed.

“You’re certain you aren’t badly injured?” Reisi asked, tilting Tatara’s head up with his finger to examine the graze on his cheekbone, which thankfully seemed only superficial.

“I’m fine.”

“You aren’t wounded anywhere else?” As he spoke, Reisi’s gaze dropped to examine the rest of his body, and he saw a small red stain spreading across the front of Tatara’s shirt.

“I’m fine, really…” Tatara tried to insist, but Reisi had already pulled up the front of Tatara’s shirt to find a small scratch on his abdomen- nothing particularly dangerous, but it seemed to be bleeding quite a bit.

“Obviously not. I must insist you return to Tsubaki-Mon with me for first aid, and I will need to take an official statement from you about the strain incident anyway.”

“I had actually been on my way there anyway, so that’s convenient.”

Reisi was just about to ask what business he had there when a van pulled up at the end of the alleyway and Saruhiko and Himori climbed out. Neither of them seemed fazed by their King being very much in Tatara’s personal space and pulling his shirt up- they were used to his failure to interpret social cues by now- though Saruhiko did seem somewhat taken aback by his ex-clanmate’s presence.

“Akiyama-kun, Fushimi-kun, prompt as always. The strain is unconscious, but there is no telling when he may wake up, so proceed with caution.”

The pair nodded, and Reisi lay his hand on the small of Tatara’s back to guide him out of the alleyway and back towards the car he’d arrived in. As he passed his clansmen, he said: “I will leave you to get on with it; I need to take a statement from Totsuka-san.”

“Yes sir,” Himori replied, but Saruhiko remained quiet, with what looked to be a calculating look on his face. He seemed as though he was evaluating the way Reisi’s hand rested on Tatara’s back, but the pair were around the corner and out of sight before Saruhiko could say anything.

Reisi had expected an awkward silence as he drove Tatara back to headquarters, but to his surprise, he’d chattered at Reisi the entire way back, seeming completely unperturbed by the wound on his stomach, which he had a wad of tissues pressed against to stop the blood staining more of his clothes or dripping onto the upholstery of Reisi’s car. 

When they got back up to his office, Tatara obediently took a seat in front of Reisi’s desk, setting his backpack down beside the chair and unbuttoning his shirt as directed whilst Reisi retrieved a well-stocked first aid kit and knelt in front of him. Tatara hissed through his teeth as Reisi cleaned out the wound, which had for the most part stopped bleeding by now, with antiseptic.

“It seems quite superficial- it shouldn’t need stitches,” Reisi said. “What happened?”

“Well he was quite… wolfish. I think he had claws, and he made a grab for me as I was trying to back away from him. I managed to jump back just in time so he couldn’t get hold of me, but he caught me with one of his nail claw things.”

“You might want to get a tetanus shot,” Reisi warned, applying a few steri-strips to the wound to hold it closed. As he reached for another antiseptic wipe to clean the scuff on Tatara’s cheek, Tatara piped up:

“Your puzzle is finished.”

Reisi looked up at him to see him staring at the galaxy jigsaw, which was now completed and had been framed and hung on the office wall.

“It’s really pretty.”

“Thank you…” The compliment had taken Reisi off-guard somewhat.

“That’s actually why I was on my way here…” Tatara said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a jigsaw puzzle box. On the cover was a photograph of Shizume City at night, taken from a rooftop. A gold halo still hovered over the horizon from the setting sun, which was hidden behind the silhouette of the skyline, but all the windows of all the buildings were lit up, like stars. 

He handed the box to Reisi. “I took the photo myself a little while back, and I decided to get it made into a puzzle on impulse. The city lights kind of remind me of the stars in your Milky Way photo.”

Reisi stared at the box for a moment, then glanced up at Tatara searchingly. “Thank you… it’s beautiful…” he said quietly, his brow furrowing in confusion at the seemingly random gesture.

There was something so off-putting about him; Reisi had slept with the man Tatara had feelings for, and yet he’d done something as thoughtful and kind as this as though they’d been friends for years. It was disconcerting to know someone so kind; the world wasn’t built for selfless people.

Reisi suddenly felt a wash of guilt for having kissed Mikoto- for having feelings for him at all. As much as he was still pissed at Mikoto for what he did, there was a part of him that thought it would be for the best if he chose Tatara. Tatara deserved something good, and when he wasn’t giving him heart attacks by nearly getting himself killed, Tatara was good for Mikoto, too.

“…He kissed me again, last week,” Reisi admitted, sitting down in the chair beside Tatara as he cleaned the wound on his cheek. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to tell him that- it almost felt like he was confessing some misdeed.

Tatara tilted his head, but his expression was smooth- he didn’t appear hurt by this revelation. “What happened?” he asked innocently.

“He was upset with me for telling you he had feelings for you, and we argued. I said some things that were perhaps uncalled for, and somehow he ended up kissing me. But it didn’t go any further than that.”

Tatara nodded slowly. “I had an inkling his feelings towards you might have changed, but I didn’t have any concrete evidence before now. But if King kissed _you,_ then I’m sure of it. I think King is falling for you- you’ve always been good friends, and you’re closer to him than anyone except maybe Kusanagi-san and me. He just never saw you in that sort of light before, but now everything that happened has made him look at you differently.” Oddly enough, Tatara still didn’t seem the least bit upset by this. He either had an eerie amount of control over his own expression, or there was something Reisi was missing.

“I see…” Reisi said, and he winced ever so slightly at how forlorn he’d sounded.

“What’s wrong?”

Reisi gave him a bitter smile. “Be that as it may, I am almost certain Suoh would still choose you over me, should it come down to it. Knowing he has these feelings is no consolation- it’s merely salt in the wound.”

“Who said anything about King picking anyone?” The innocence in Tatara’s voice triggered a faint twinge of annoyance in Reisi; surely he couldn’t be this naïve?

“He will have to eventually; he cannot be allowed to string both of us along forever, and the false hope is rather unpleasant. If this is a band-aid that must be ripped off, I’d rather it be done sooner than later.”

“Or we could just both date him.”

Reisi raised an eyebrow- he hadn’t been expecting that, but he was sceptical. “I’m not sure that would work; we would both simply be competing for his attention, and I believe I would get the short end of that stick in that respect, seeing as you are in the same clan, so you see him more often.”

“I think you might be misunderstanding me,” Tatara said, his face unreadable. “I’m not suggesting he date both of us and divide his time between us- let’s be real, that kind of arrangement would be far too high-maintenance for King. I’m saying maybe we should all date each other, kind of a three-way relationship sort of thing.”

“Polyamory?” It wasn’t so much a question as Reisi turning over the idea in his mind. He certainly hadn’t been expecting a suggestion like this.

“Yes. We both like King, and King likes both of us, right? And… well, I can’t speak for you, but I’m sort of sweet on you… I already said you were attractive, but you’re also really smart and considerate and you’re kind of… well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a bit odd, but in a really interesting way. Like, you’re so enthusiastic about the things you like, it’s kind of adorable, and you don’t meet people like that very often. When you were talking about the galaxy puzzle the other day, I could have just listened to you talking like that for hours… I’ll admit we don’t really know each other super well, but I want to get to know you better.”

His voice was sincere as he spoke, and he looked up at Reisi through his eyelashes with an adorable little shy smile on his face that made Reisi’s chest tighten unexpectedly. He was struck suddenly by just how _pretty_ Tatara was- he’d already known in the back of his mind that he was pretty, but he’d never thought pretty guys were his type. Reisi had always preferred the rugged masculine ones, but seeing Tatara like this, a tentative grin on his lips and a faint blush blossoming on his cheeks… Reisi decided he might have to make an exception. Especially seeing him with his shirt open like this- he was slim and dainty and almost feminine in a way that made Reisi want to wrap him up in his arms.

And he was sweet. God, he was sweet. That smile was spun sugar, and optimism seemed to exude from him like sunlight. Reisi had never even considered thinking about Tatara in a romantic light before, but now that idea had been put in his head… he had to admit there was something about the pretty dreamer boy, as reckless and away-with-the-fairies as he could be, that would be nice to have around. He felt the first stirrings of a crush fluttering in his chest.

It was then that Reisi realised he had been quiet for a little while, mulling over what Tatara had said, and he cleared his throat, meeting the expectant, hopeful look in Tatara’s eyes, then said: “I think I would like to get to know you better too.”

The grin that spread across Tatara’s face, beautiful and brilliant, made Reisi’s heartbeat stutter, and he was taken aback by just how easily this man had wrapped him around his little finger. He understood now why Mikoto seemed so infatuated with him.

“I’m glad,” he said, throwing his arms around Reisi’s shoulders, and Reisi hugged him back, careful not to squeeze him too tightly and jostle the wound on his abdomen. He couldn’t help but be slightly bemused by the whole thing- this was _not_ how he’d expected this afternoon to go. But holding him like this was pleasant- he was warm and slender and his skin was soft.

Suddenly, Tatara giggled, seemingly at his own thoughts, and Reisi pulled back to give him a questioning look.

“What?” Reisi asked.

Tatara tilted his head down bashfully. “This is probably going to sound very presumptuous but…” He paused and looked up at him, a shy smile on his face. “Can I kiss you?”

Reisi was a little dazed by the question to say the least. Apart from anything else, he wasn’t used to being asked if it was okay to kiss him (Mikoto certainly hadn’t) and he definitely was not expecting this to be something that happened today. But now that Tatara mentioned it, Reisi wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea…

“It can’t hurt.”

Tatara grinned, then leaned in and pressed their lips together softly, tentatively, and Reisi found their arms around each other again. The kiss was brief and chaste and gentle, and when they broke apart, the pair looked at each other in silence for a moment, as though taking the time to comprehend what had just happened- it was unexpected, but it was _good._ Tatara’s lips were soft, and Reisi had to admit he was a good kisser. Tatara let out a little bashful giggle, half-shocked, as though he was processing what had happened, and Reisi couldn’t help but smile. _God_ he was cute.

And then suddenly they were kissing again- Reisi wasn’t quite sure if he had initiated it or not, but he was quite content to let it continue. Their arms were still around each other, the embrace tightening as Tatara slipped out of his chair to crawl into Reisi’s lap to close the distance between them, and Reisi ran his hands up and down his sides, savouring the almost delicate curve of his waist. Tatara’s shirt still hung open, and with a faint, mischievous smirk against Reisi’s lips, he pulled on the fabric a little to tug it out from under Reisi’s hands, so they now rested on bare skin. He deepened the kiss as he did so, his lips parting and his tongue sliding forward to encourage Reisi’s to meet it and take control, and Reisi wasn’t about to deny him- as much as he had never even thought of Tatara in this light before, he would freely admit that he really did enjoy kissing him. It was completely different to how it had been with Mikoto- there was none of the roughness, none of the burning desperation; Tatara’s kiss was tender and slow, almost sweet. His lips tasted of mint, rather than cigarette smoke. He was demanding in a completely different way- Mikoto simply took what he want, but Tatara had this way of making you want what he wanted- the flirty glances, the little smiles and flutters of his eyelashes, the subtle way he moved his body against Reisi’s…

When Tatara had entered the office, Reisi had felt mostly ambivalent towards him. He seemed to be a decent person, but he had this sort of reckless optimism that sort of annoyed him sometimes. And now, after less than half an hour, Tatara’s touch had started to send tingles of electricity across Reisi’s skin. His heartbeat had actually stuttered in his chest when Tatara had told him he liked him romantically. Reisi was almost embarrassed by how quickly he’d fallen to putty in this beautiful boy’s hands, and he found he sort of understood now why Mikoto felt the way he did about him. He was sort of mesmerising, both his personality and his appearance. Apart from anything else, his quirks made him fascinating to Reisi, and he couldn’t help but want to dig deeper, find out more about what motivated the kind of person who would stroll into what was essentially enemy territory and flirt with a rival King, after everything that happened in the past month.

It was that fascination, combined with the fact he had to acknowledge that he was just so _pretty_ (Reisi couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty he was- he seemed to realise it anew every few seconds), that had Reisi convinced all of a sudden that he didn’t want this to be their last kiss, even though twenty minutes ago he never would have considered kissing him at all.

Reisi never thought he was the kind of person who got “crushes” on people he barely knew. In his eyes it was schoolgirlish and immature. But he could barely think straight with Tatara sitting in his lap like this, their bodies pressed so close together, his hands on the smooth, soft skin of Tatara’s waist…

Reisi realised suddenly that he wasn’t the only one seeming to enjoy this; he could feel a faint bulge pressing against his stomach, and as their kiss deepened, Tatara’s hips bucked involuntarily. When he realised what he’d done, Tatara broke the kiss in embarrassment, pressing his fingertips to his lips in almost… guilt? But the little bashful blush on his cheeks and the way his eyes glimmered with a faint, almost innocent lust was _so_ cute, and Reisi had to admit he felt a jolt of arousal at the base of his spine at the knowledge that Tatara was a little turned on by this.

“S-sorry… I just meant to come here to talk, but I guess I got carried away…” He cleared his throat. “You’re quite handsome; can you blame me?” Even when he was embarrassed, he still managed to be flirty.

Reisi chuckled. “I suppose not, seeing as I am in a similar predicament.” He’d meant for that to refer to the fact he’d gotten carried away because Tatara was attractive, but he realised afterwards that it sounded as though he was referring to the _other_ predicament Tatara was in. And he realised that wasn’t strictly false either- the kiss had stirred up a fair bit of heat in the pit of Reisi’s stomach. He’d coped with it alright until he’d become aware of the state Tatara was in. And now suddenly his trousers felt too tight.

“But perhaps we should go and speak to Suoh; it was a communication issue that this mess originated from in the first place, so it seems to me the sooner we talk this out with him, the better,” Reisi added gently. Last time he let his hormones get away from him, it hadn’t ended well, and it was already becoming difficult to resist pressing his lips to Tatara’s throat.

“Absolutely,” Tatara agreed, but made no move to climb out of Reisi’s lap. When Reisi raised his eyebrow, Tatara continued: “…But at the same time, is it really a good idea to talk through something that important in a state like this?” he pointed out, gesturing with a nod down at their groins.

“I suppose not.” Reisi had a feeling he knew where Tatara was going with this, and as much as he felt it was probably foolish to allow himself to get sucked into another casual sexual encounter after how badly the last one had turned out, at the same time, he really didn’t want to say no. If Mikoto could be reckless, then so could he.

“Well, we’re both here…” Tatara murmured, his voice dropping to a whisper. “And I’m more than happy to…”

He didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence before Reisi had scooped him up into his arms and set off briskly for his on-call room. Tatara giggled in surprise at being picked up, clinging onto Reisi’s coat with a smug smirk on his face.

Reisi lay him down on the bed, then kicked off his own boots, unfastened his sword belt and shrugged off his jacket, leaving them in a pile on the floor before climbing onto the bed on top of a now-shirtless Tatara, who reached up eagerly to wrap his arms around his shoulders as Reisi descended on his throat to pepper kisses down it.

“Nnn… I’m glad you decided to let loose a little and let yourself have this…” Tatara murmured playfully.

“Sometimes, one simply has to say ‘fuck it’.”

Tatara giggled; the expletive sounded so strange coming from someone who was usually so formal.

As Reisi’s lips continued down to his collarbone, Tatara reached down to pull off his cravat, then pawed at the buttons of his shirt.

“Eager…” Reisi murmured, his breath ghosting across Tatara’s skin.

“I’m topless,” Tatara pointed out. “It’s only fair.”

Reisi chuckled. “I suppose you’re right,” he said, sitting up and shrugging off his waistcoat before helping Tatara to unbutton his shirt and allowing it to fall off his shoulders. He then dropped back onto his hands and knees to continue to press kisses all over Tatara’s chest as Tatara sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Reisi continued to be astounded by how different the atmosphere was- Tatara was playful, flirty, but sensual. There was none of the biting, or the tearing at clothes that there had been with Mikoto. Not that Reisi hadn’t very much enjoyed the rough sex, but his instinct with Tatara was almost to look after him- he was so skinny and small that Reisi almost feared breaking him, especially combined with Reisi’s hyperawareness that he was a King, and therefore much stronger than Tatara, as well as the fact that Tatara was wounded, if only superficially. He found his urge was to simply run his hands reverently all over Tatara’s body, rather than cover him in bruises as he had with Mikoto.

So he set about kissing every inch of Tatara’s throat, then exploring his collarbones and shoulders with his mouth, slowly working his way down onto his chest until he finally reached a nipple to close his lips around it. Tatara arched his back languidly towards the contact, tightening his fingers in Reisi’s hair as he let out soft sighs of enjoyment.

There was something so pretty about the glimmer of lust in Tatara’s half-closed eyes, the way his long lashes fluttered and his hair fanned out around his head in a dark gold halo. His skin was soft and pale, and a pink blush had crept across his chest and shoulders. Reisi could have spent hours just running his hands and his mouth all over his body, exploring every inch of it, almost worshipping it, but the ache in his underwear was starting to grow more demanding, so reluctantly, he pulled his lips away from Tatara’s nipple, shivering at the little whimper that escaped his lips as he did so, and continued kissing down over his stomach.

Tatara, however, seemed to have grown bored of simply lying there and allowing Reisi to do as he wished to him (as much as he’d enjoyed his ministrations). With a mischievous smile, he pushed Reisi up off him and down onto his back, his touches gentle, but Reisi followed his command with no resistance, lying down obediently for Tatara to crawl into his lap. Tatara’s lips went straight for the crook of Reisi’s neck, seeming as eager to familiarise himself with Reisi’s body as Reisi had been to familiarise himself with his. As he trailed his lips down his chest, Tatara murmured:

“So tell me about what happened between you and King; as I understand it, it took place in this very bed…?” His breath ghosted across Reisi’s skin, raising a ripple of goosebumps where it touched.

Reisi chuckled, stroking Tatara’s hair as he kissed down his chest. “We were sparring in an alleyway, and the next thing I knew he had me pinned to a wall and he was kissing me. I was half-convinced he would have had me right there in that alley if I hadn’t advised against it- apart from anything else I had no lubricant with me.”

“Mmm…” Tatara hummed, flicking his tongue across a nipple. “Sounds hot~. Then again, I sort of have a thing for being manhandled by big strong guys; being pinned to a wall sounds fun…”

“Are you trying to imply something?” Reisi raised his eyebrow.

“Maaaaybe…”

“You are injured, I don’t wish to hurt you further by treating you roughly.”

“When I’m better, then,” Tatara replied with a pout. His lips had now left Reisi’s chest, and he’d continued kissing down his abdomen.

“Besides, hopefully the next time we’re in a situation like this, we’ll be joined by Suoh. Wouldn’t you rather there be two of us manhandling you?”

“You make a good point,” Tatara conceded. “Anyway, someone mentioned something about handcuffs; I’m intrigued.”

“Ah, yes. I put him in them so it appeared less suspicious that I was bringing the Red King into headquarters, so it looked like I was taking him into custody.”

“And then…?” Tatara’s lips were barely an inch north of Reisi’s waistband now.

“I gave him oral sex.”

Tatara giggled again. “That’s a very formal way to say you sucked his cock~.”

“He refused to allow himself to be vocal until I uncuffed him, and when I did so he…” Reisi paused, considering his wording so that Tatara wouldn’t tease him for being overly formal again. “Fucked my face, I suppose you would call it. Which was quite an experience, seeing as he is rather well-endowed, but I don’t have a functioning gag reflex, and it seems we both have a taste for rough treatment. It was very enjoyable.”

Tatara shivered at the mental image as he unbuttoned Reisi’s fly. “Now that sounds fun to watch.”

“I am sure Suoh would be more than happy to oblige if I asked him to re-enact it for your enjoyment.”

“Good…” Tatara breathed, having unfastened Reisi’s trousers. He eased them down slowly, then instantly set to work kissing up and down his inner thigh.

“If you’re planning to suck me, I would like to ask you sit on my face so I can do the same for you,” Reisi said. He was staring down at him as he spoke, his throat dry at the sight of him lying between his legs.

Tatara grinned at the request. “I’m sure I can manage that.” He pressed another kiss to Reisi’s thigh, then sat up to unbutton his own trousers. “So what happened after that?”

Reisi swallowed at the sight of Tatara undressing in front of him. “He watched me finger myself, and then we ha-… He fucked me. He was rather rough with me too, but that’s how I like it.”

A shiver ran down Tatara’s back at the lewdness of the description, and Reisi smirked.

“If he hadn’t told me he was a virgin, I wouldn’t have known it was his first time.”

“…Huh, I never would have guessed he was a virgin. But I guess he’s too lazy to go out chasing tail or anything like that.”

Reisi chuckled as he watched Tatara kick off his trousers, his eyes raking up and down his bare thighs. Tatara appeared to have noticed him staring, and he slowed the movements of his hands, easing down his underwear almost painfully slowly, until he finally knelt completely naked before his partner.

Reisi let out a slow, shaky breath of appreciation as he drank in the sight of him, but then he raised an eyebrow. “You claimed you only came here with the intention of talking, and yet you’re clean-shaven?” he pointed out, nodding towards the smooth skin between Tatara’s thighs.

“I came _here_ with the intention of talking, but on the off-chance that when we went to go speak to Mikoto things got a little heated, I wanted to be prepared.”

Reisi rolled his eyes playfully, but couldn’t help but bite his lip as Tatara crawled forward to start pulling down his underwear. Once he’d gotten the garment off, Tatara tossed it aside, staring at the skin he’d just bared with a glimmer of lust in his eyes, and he let out a shuddering sigh of arousal.

“I said all that stuff about you being attractive earlier but I didn’t know the half of it…” he breathed appreciatively.

Reisi laughed quietly. “I feel the same way about you. You are beautiful… Now get over here and sit on my face.”

Tatara giggled, shuffling up the bed obligingly to plant his knees either side of Reisi’s head, leaning forward to resume kissing up his thighs. Reisi set about doing the same, running his hands over every inch of the soft skin within reach as he peppered a trail of kisses up Tatara’s leg.

“May I eat your ass?”

Tatara couldn’t help but laugh at that- Reisi’s inclination towards formality really didn’t work so well in a bedroom context, but the way Tatara smiled as he looked up at him over his shoulder suggested he found it sort of endearing.

“Yes, you may~. And if that’s a leading question to ask if you can do something _else_ to it after, the answer to that is also yes.”

Reisi smirked against the skin of his thigh. “The lubricant is in the top drawer.”

Tatara reached for it with a grin, laying it on the pillow beside Reisi for when he needed it, then he leaned forward again, nipping the skin of Reisi’s hip teasingly as he worked his way towards where his mouth was wanted.

Reisi, however, wasted no time in getting stuck into his task. He rested his hands on Tatara’s ass cheeks, groping him gently as he pulled them apart and buried his face between them. The noise that escaped Tatara’s throat as Reisi swept his tongue across his entrance made Reisi shiver- Tatara was _vocal._ The little yelps and whimpers and soft, high-pitched moans that flooded freely past Tatara’s lips as Reisi pleasured him with his tongue made every hair on his body stand on end.

It took a moment before Tatara seemed to remember what he’d been about to do, and once he’d gathered himself a little, he wrapped his fingers around Reisi’s cock, stroking him slowly as he leaned down to lick at the tip. Reisi groaned encouragingly, and Tatara quickly took the hint, closing his lips around the head of Reisi’s erection and bobbing his head, tracing patterns with his tongue across the flesh as he sucked on him.

Reisi hadn’t quite expected him to be so talented, but the way Tatara found every last sensitive spot with ease, and the dexterity of his fingers and his tongue sent jolts of pleasure up Reisi’s spine, which were only amplified by the way he was moaning around his cock. The sounds he’d been making were barely dampened by the fact his mouth was now otherwise occupied.

Reisi quickly found he was struggling to hold back the sounds rising in his own throat, especially as he reached around Tatara’s thigh and started pumping his cock with his hand, eliciting an honest-to-god _cry_ from his lover. The sounds were genuine as well- they didn’t sound exaggerated or falsified in the slightest, and the little twitches of his hips and the way he dug his fingertips into Reisi’s thighs seemed to further reinforce that he really was enjoying himself, and he wanted to let Reisi know about it. It was possibly the most erotic thing Reisi had ever heard, and every moan that resonated in Tatara’s chest sent a fresh ripple of goosebumps across Reisi’s skin. He’d always been aware in the back of his mind that Tatara was sort of cute, but now he was hyperaware, every single second, of how exquisitely sexy the man on top of him was. His free hand roamed across every inch of bare skin he could reach, savouring how smooth it was, and delighting in the heat pulsing right beneath it as his racing heartbeat made his whole body flush faintly pink. Everything about him was exquisite: the sharp point of his hips, the curve of his waist and backside, the fluid movements of his slender frame as he arched his back and bobbed his head and thrusted into Reisi’s palm, the way his entrance twitched as Reisi pressed his tongue inside him…

He certainly hadn’t expected to find himself rimming Totsuka Tatara that afternoon, but he was glad things had turned out that way.

As much as Reisi could have lain here doing this forever, he was also aware of the desperation beginning to creep into Tatara’s whines- they were becoming higher-pitched, with an edge of impatience, so Reisi reluctantly pulled his mouth away to coat his fingers with the lubricant.

When he began to massage his entrance with his fingertip, Tatara let out another whimper and rolled his hips backwards towards the contact, pushing the digit into him eagerly. Reisi shivered at his enthusiasm, thrusting the finger into him obligingly as he pressed his lips to his thigh. His other hand was still stroking Tatara’s cock as Tatara rocked his hips slowly, back onto his fingers and forward into his palm. His shoulders were beginning to tremble slightly.

It had barely been a few moments since Reisi had pressed the first finger into him before Tatara lifted his head off Reisi’s cock to hiss: “More…”

And Reisi could do nothing but indulge him, sliding another finger knuckle deep and letting out a gasp of arousal at the satisfied groan that escaped Tatara at the sound.

“Yes…” he hissed, allowing his head to droop forward to rest on Reisi’s thigh. He was panting hard, and Reisi could feel his breath tickling his skin as he curled his fingers inside him.

Suddenly, Tatara twitched, biting down on the skin of Reisi’s hip as a yelp of ecstasy bubbled past his lips- it seemed Reisi had found the spot he was looking for. As he thrust his fingers at that spot, Tatara dug in his fingernails desperately, his whines broken and incoherent.

Reisi didn’t need asking to add a third finger- the way Tatara was riding his hand was signal enough that he wanted more. However, he’d barely gotten it past the first knuckle when Tatara whined:

“I-I’m ready!”

Reisi bit his lip in arousal as he withdrew his fingers, then reached into the bedside drawer to pull out a condom. Meanwhile, Tatara picked himself up from where he was kneeling over his face, the shakiness of his legs making the simple movement quite difficult for him. Eventually though, he managed to shuffle down the bed to kneel over Reisi’s hips, facing up towards him, and watched him intently as he rolled the condom onto his cock.

“Ready?” Reisi asked.

Tatara nodded enthusiastically, and Reisi smirked as he lay a hand on his hip to help lift him up. He was struck in that moment by how surreal the situation was- lying in the bed where barely a few weeks ago Mikoto had practically pounded him into the mattress, but this time with Tatara kneeling over his hips, beautifully naked and panting and staring down at him as if he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Almost the most surprising thing about it was the _way_ it was happening. Even though Reisi had had feelings for Mikoto when they’d had sex, it had been very carnal, all passion and fire and snarky comebacks and no romance. They had _fucked,_ whereas being with Tatara was more like… making love. Even though he’d only realised he even felt that way towards him less than an hour ago. His urge with Tatara wasn’t to claw up his back and leave bruises on his neck, it was to hold him, pleasure him, press him close to his body, make him let out more of those adorable little noises, kiss him all over and make him feel as good as he possibly could.

Tatara leaned forward to rest his hands either side of Reisi’s head as Reisi pressed the head of his cock against his ass, ready to let it slip inside. As he did so, Tatara kissed him once more, deeply and sensually, the anticipation burning in the way he moved his lips. It was surreal how right it felt to be with him like this. Even though they didn’t exactly know each other very well, kissing him and holding him and making love to him like this still made Reisi’s heart flutter in his ribcage, almost more than it did with Mikoto, and he’d been head over heels with him for months.

But all of those thoughts were quickly swept from Reisi’s mind as Tatara slowly started to sink down on his cock- all he could think about was how _good_ he felt. The long, satisfied moan Tatara let out into their kiss sent tingles through every nerve in Reisi’s body. He wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling his frame close against him, and he felt Tatara grip onto his shoulders, burying his face in the crook of his neck as they began to roll their hips slowly in tandem with one another.

“Mmm…” Reisi groaned, pressing a kiss to Tatara’s ear as he matched his movements with his own gentle thrusts. They clung to each other as they fell into a rhythm, pressing their chests flush together in desperate ecstasy. Reisi tried his best to be gentle, hyperaware of the wound on Tatara’s abdomen and the fact that, as a King, he was far stronger than his partner. But Tatara didn’t seem concerned about any of that; the blissful noises escaping his lips had only gotten louder, even muffled by having his lips pressed to Reisi’s neck. Reisi ran his hands up and down his sides reverently, savouring the way he rolled his hips and arched his back. The way Tatara ground their bodies together, taking Reisi as deep as he could inside of him, his movements slow and sensual and deliciously erotic, had Reisi seeing stars. He felt like his every sense was consumed by him- his vision was blurring and Tatara’s lips directed those lewd and half-delirious moans of pleasure right into his ear, sending tingles all over his body. All he could smell was Tatara- his sweat and his cologne and the musky smell of sex in the air, and all he could feel was his body. The heat of his skin pressed flush against his own, and the pulses of pleasure radiating out from his groin as Tatara rode him, had Reisi struggling to bite back some rather embarrassing noises threatening to escape his throat.

And then he heard Tatara hiss:

“Nnn… Reisi…”

He’d never heard Tatara call him by his given name before- it was rare he let anyone use that name- but the _way_ he sighed it, almost rapturously, made Reisi’s hips buck involuntarily. He let out a shuddering breath, then pressed his lips to Tatara’s ear and sighed his name back at him.

“Tatara…”

Tatara’s grip on Reisi’s shoulders tightened in response, and against his stomach, Reisi felt Tatara’s cock twitch in arousal. So he repeated the groan of his name, and Tatara replied in kind, until with each thrust, all both of them groaned was one another’s names, in varying degrees of brokenness and desperation. More than once, Tatara’s breath hitched between syllables, and as the minutes drew on, the whines grew ever higher and ever more shaky, until he was practically sobbing with ecstasy, crying out into Reisi’s ear and clinging to his back as though for dear life. His whole body had begun to tremble as he matched Reisi’s thrusts, and then all of a sudden his movements faltered, and his cries became incoherent in his mouth.

“H-haa…~!” The sound cut off in his throat, and his movements became jerky all of a sudden, and then he relaxed all at once, his body going limp as his cum dripped onto Reisi’s abdomen. Reisi could feel him tightening around him with every wave of his orgasm, and each twitch made stars burst behind his eyelids. He moved to pull out, but Tatara’s hips jerked down impishly- he clearly wasn’t done riding out his orgasm, and the sensation overwhelmed Reisi. He gave a few final shaky thrusts before the feeling of Tatara finishing around him finally pulled him over the edge, and he bit down on his lip to stifle a deep groan of pleasure as he finished inside him.

It took a moment before they could steady themselves to move from that position, still clinging to each other as they panted for breath. Eventually Tatara mustered the strength to sit up and slowly lift himself off (though Reisi took hold of his hips to help steady him so he didn’t fall over) before promptly toppling onto the mattress beside his new lover. Reisi just about had the energy to sit up and remove the condom, tying it off and tossing it into the bin, before he flopped back onto the bed again; the room was spinning and he felt too lightheaded to attempt anything more strenuous.

Almost to Reisi’s surprise, Tatara’s first instinct when he lay back down was to cuddle up to his side, and Reisi tucked him under his arm with a tired smile.  

“That was incredible…” Tatara sighed, a satisfied sparkle in his eyes, and Reisi couldn’t help but smile at the almost goofy grin on his face.

“Very much so,” Reisi agreed.

And it was- Reisi had never really had anything like this before. Most of his previous encounters had been hook-ups while he was still at university- impersonal and full of heat but no _passion,_ fuelled by hormones and alcohol and a need to get off or experiment, and little concern for who it actually was he was taking it out on. Admittedly, Reisi hadn’t had an awful lot of experiences like that- he quickly decided it wasn’t his scene- and after becoming a King he simply didn’t have time to pursue any kind of casual sexual relationship. But barely a few moments into this encounter with Tatara he knew he preferred this over the kind of hook-ups he’d had in the past. He much preferred the love-making, the sensuality and the passion, and the way the lust he felt was amplified by the fact his partner wasn’t just a nameless person with an attractive enough body- he was someone Reisi knew and had genuinely begun to care about.

In truth, Reisi had been thinking about Tatara a lot since he’d first come to visit him, but it was only during this visit that he really made the connection between the interest he’d taken in him and something that felt like a crush. Even though what had just happened was essentially a hook-up considering the fact they didn’t know each other especially well, it didn’t feel that way. There was something that just seemed right about kissing him and about the way he fit so perfectly under his arm. Being with him was easy- the conversation seemed to flow without any awkwardness, as though they’d been this close forever.

Tatara let out a contented sigh, interrupting Reisi’s train of thought.

“You know, I kind of told King off when he told me he hooked up with you, but I kind of understand his point of view a little better now.”

“How so?” Reisi tilted his head, then cleared his throat, embarrassed by how shaky his voice still was.

“Like, I didn’t mean to have sex with you right here and now, but it’s really easy to want it, and apparently very difficult to stop indulging myself once I’ve gotten started. I kinda sympathise a bit more with him not thinking straight. As much as he shouldn’t have done it how he did, and I wish he hadn’t hurt you… I kind of get why he looked at you and thought ‘damn I can’t keep my hands off him’.”

Reisi chuckled.

“In a way, I guess it all worked out for the best? If it hadn’t gone so badly wrong the first time, maybe we wouldn’t be here now, and I’m very glad I’m here now. And it seems you feel the same, judging by the way you’re cuddling me.”

“And what way is that?” Reisi raised an eyebrow.

“The way you’d cuddle a boyfriend rather than a one night stand.”

Reisi smiled. “I suppose you’re right.”

In truth, he hadn’t thought of it like that before- Tatara was right in saying that if Mikoto hadn’t screwed up so monumentally the first time, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe Mikoto never would have realised he had feelings for Reisi; maybe Tatara never would have developed them in the first place. And perhaps it was still a little too soon to tell, but if the conversation they had planned to have with Mikoto turned out as they wanted it to, the happiness that would come as a result would surely outweigh those few weeks of pain. Yeah, it would have been better if there hadn’t been any pain necessary at all, but Mikoto wasn’t exactly good with people or feelings or anything else of that nature- getting burned every now and then came with the territory of being in love with the Red King, but Reisi had long since accepted it as an occupational hazard that he was willing to put up with. 

Besides, it wasn’t like he did it on purpose. If one knew him well enough, it wasn’t difficult to piece together the inference that Mikoto was likely struggling with some kind of mental health problem- he hid the signs well, but nobody has a perfect poker face, not even Mikoto. And occasionally his symptoms manifested themselves as recklessness, thoughtlessness, impulsivity, the results of which Reisi usually ended up having to clean up after him.

That was what had happened a few weeks ago, when his confusion about his feelings for Tatara had weakened his self-control, and he'd simply let himself go with the tension without thinking about what might happen afterwards. As much as it stung, Reisi knew he hadn’t meant any harm, and as angry as he’d been, he could feel himself starting to forgive him.

After all, Reisi knew well how badly Mikoto didn’t want to hurt the people he cared about. Not that Mikoto would ever say it out loud, but Reisi pieced it together from little things in the way Mikoto acted, and the way Tatara talked about him. There had been times where Mikoto had lost control and Reisi had seen the flicker of guilt, subtle but definitely there, in his eyes, and he knew that Mikoto knew the stories about the last Red King and that they scared him. From the way he treated his clan, it was clear that he would rather die than hurt a single hair on any of their heads. And he knew that Mikoto hadn’t meant any harm by what he’d said after they had sex.

In a way, Reisi sort of understood why Mikoto’s feelings for Tatara had made him feel so conflicted. Being a King and being aware of the power that entailed could be a frightening prospect sometimes, even for him, and his own Blue aura was far less unruly than the Red one. That fear could definitely have the effect of making a King distance themselves from the people they cared about, out of concern for those people, or simply out of an inability to relate to those who didn’t shoulder the same burden. And it could certainly make one worry about the dangers of entering a romantic relationship.

That instinct of a King to distance themselves was part of the reason why Reisi was so glad all this was happening. The prospect of being in a relationship with another King, someone who understood what being a King was like, was comforting. But as was the prospect of Tatara being involved. He was the closest Reisi had ever seen to someone who wasn’t a King understanding the burden. He had this uncanny ability to read even the subtlest of tells off anyone’s expression- he even seemed as though he could read even Mikoto’s most private thoughts off the lines in his skin like they were written across his face. Reisi sometimes suspected he was a strain with low-level empathic abilities.

Nevertheless, having someone who wasn’t a King seeming to implicitly understand him was an odd feeling- he hadn’t had that since before he was chosen by the Slates.

And he was glad for Mikoto’s sake too that that this relationship might become a reality. Mikoto internalised that fear of letting anyone get close more than most, and Reisi believed it would be good for him to let someone in, especially two people who cared deeply about him, and who didn’t fear his powers. Tatara was his stopper, and if what Tatara had said when he’d last visited the Sceptre 4 headquarters was true, then Reisi was Mikoto’s equal, and one of the only people who could hold his own against him if he ever did lose control. Reisi hoped having two people who had no reason to be afraid of him, and who could help him if he ever feared himself, might help Mikoto’s mental state somewhat.

“You know, I realised we don’t actually know each other that well,” Tatara pointed out, interrupting Reisi’s train of thought. “I wanna get to know you.”

“In what way?”

“Like, favourite colour and stuff.”

“Blue.”

“I suppose that was obvious.”

“Yours?”

“Red.”

Reisi chuckled, repeating Tatara’s words. “I suppose that was obvious.”

“Birthday?”

“The first of October. Yours?”

“Valentine’s day.”

Reisi smiled a little. “That seems fitting.”

“So what are you interested in? What do you do with your time?”

“As a King, I have very little free time, but I enjoy puzzles and games; you’re aware of the jigsaws, but I also play games with my clansmen from time to time as a bonding activity. Card games, Monopoly, et cetera. I also enjoy making tea, flower arranging, reading, that sort of thing. Yourself?”

“Bits of everything really. I stick with a hobby for maybe a month and then get into something else, but my favourites that I’ve always kept doing are photography and music- I play the guitar and write songs and stuff. But I dabble in lots of stuff. I’m never usually good at sports but I give them a go sometimes, and I’ve had  phases of being into pretty much anything really: painting, horse riding, adrenaline junkie stuff like skydiving or bungie jumping, scuba diving, cycling, gardening, mixology… I dabble.”

“That’s a rather impressive portfolio.”

“I’m kind of restless; I like trying new things and getting out of my comfort zone, so I always have different hobbies month to month. Hmm… what’s your favourite food?” Tatara asked.

“Hmm, I think I would have to say hotpot, but I’m not a fussy eater. Yourself?”

“It changes week to week, really. At the minute it’s Italian food- Anna prefers to eat red things (the only colour she can see is red), and Italian food has a lot of tomato in it, so I’ve been experimenting with making a lot of different types, things like bolognaise and lasagne, and I really quite like it.”

Reisi nodded. “How close are you with Anna?”

The way Tatara smiled at the question was sort of endearing- he clearly thought very highly of her.

“I love her to pieces. I’m one of the main people who takes care of her- I don’t live at Homra, but while I’m there I cook for her and take her clothes shopping and that sort of thing. She’s like family, like a little sister, or even like a daughter. She’s my little princess, you know? I’m not quite as close to her as King is, though; they have this sort of bond that nobody can even get in on. He definitely is like her dad. He legally adopted her not long after she joined Homra; he painted it as a practical thing- she needs next of kin, and people would start to get suspicious of a little girl hanging around with a load of unrelated men- but we all know he doesn’t only see it that way. She’s family, to him and to all of us.”

“Do you have much biological family?”

Tatara’s smile took on a faintly wistful look, and Reisi worried he might have hit a nerve.

“No. When I was a little kid, my birth parents left me in a park and told me: ‘Wait right here,’ and then they never came back. I was adopted by a childless couple, but my adoptive dad had problems with addiction, so we had a lot of money troubles. Eventually my mother left because she couldn’t deal with it anymore, and I was left with my father. He wasn’t a bad man, but he had a lot of demons, so he was absent a lot and we didn’t have very much money. We managed, though. He died a few years ago.” Despite how sad the story was, Tatara’s casual, cheerful tone never faltered.

Reisi pressed his lips together in sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear it.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me too much. You do the best you can with what you’re given,” he said brightly.

Reisi couldn’t help but feel his heart break a little. Tatara was such a kind soul; he didn’t know how anyone could look at that smile and abandon him, how his parents could think he wasn’t worth loving. It was somewhat amazing to him that Tatara still remained as kind as he was after all of that; by anyone’s standard he should be a cynic, but he was the most optimistic person Reisi knew. He found himself pulling Tatara closer against his side, almost protectively.

“What about you? What were your family like?” Tatara asked, still seeming completely unperturbed.

“Relatively normal. My parents were working class, and I have a brother, whose personality is very dissimilar to my own; he’s quite naïve, but he is generous and kind and open-minded. I consider myself quite close to them. I do not have much extended family, though.”

Tatara nodded. “They sound sweet. It’s nice to meet someone with a functional family for once; it seems most people in Homra all have really dysfunctional backgrounds.”

“I suppose your clan always has been one of misfits.”

“That’s why I like it though; we found a family in each other.”

Reisi smiled. “That’s a sweet way of looking at it.” Then, out of the blue, he let out a sudden noise of frustration.

“Hmm?”

“I brought you here in order to take a statement about the strain attack…”

Tatara burst into a fit of giggles. “Guess we never got around to that… Maybe we should wait until tomorrow. We need to go talk to King.”

Reisi nodded. “Perhaps we should clean ourselves up first, though,” he suggested, glancing down at the stickiness drying on his chest.

“Yeah, good idea.”

* * *

 

Half an hour later, the pair had showered (together, at Tatara’s suggestion that it would take less time, though judging by the way he spent most of the time staring at Reisi’s naked body, Reisi deduced he had other motives), dried themselves off and gotten dressed again, and as they stood by the door of the on-call room, they exchanged a brief but significant look as they readied themselves to leave and speak to Mikoto. No matter how confident they were that the outcome of their discussion would be the one they wanted, it was difficult not to feel a little jittery at the prospect. But it was a good kind of nervous, at least for Reisi. He gave Tatara a brief peck on the lips before leading him out into the corridor.

As they entered the foyer, the pair came across Seri, whose brows twitched in confusion at the sight of Tatara’s presence.

“Awashima-kun. I have some urgent business I must attend to this evening, so I will leave the running of operations in your capable hands until further notice. I should be back tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“Yes, sir. May I ask what the business is?”

“A personal matter of some importance, but there is no need for concern.”

Seri nodded. “Can I ask what Totsuka-san is doing here? If it’s clan business and I’m being left in charge, I should be up to d-…”

“He is my boyfriend,” Reisi said simply, and Tatara spluttered in surprise, his cheeks turning pink. “I shall see you tomorrow,” he said nonchalantly, as if nothing he’d said was amiss.

Tatara paused however, to implore Seri: “Please don’t tell Kusanagi-san what he just said. At least for tonight, it could cause some trouble if that got out…” he explained bashfully.

Reisi shot a glance over his shoulder at Seri, a faintly stern look in his eye, indicating she was to take Tatara’s request as a command from her superior.

“Of course, Captain,” she replied, giving a polite bow as the two of them turned and headed towards the doors, but there was a bemused look on her face.

Once they were out of earshot, Tatara asked: “Boyfriend?”

“We have already agreed upon terms for our relationship. We simply need Suoh’s consent at this point,” Reisi pointed out, opening the door for them to step out into the courtyard.

“What if he’s not interested?”

“He will be; I am almost certain of it.”

“I know, I know, I don’t think he’s gonna say no, but what if he does? What do we do then?” There was an odd look on Tatara’s face; he clearly wasn’t used to being the pessimist in the scenario. But it was obvious that he really wanted this, and the prospect of it going sour had him a little on edge.

Reisi reached out and took Tatara’s hand, rubbing it with his thumb to comfort him. “That is a bridge we will cross if we come to it, but I highly doubt our route will take us in that direction.”

Tatara looked up at him and offered him a somewhat meek and slightly anxious smile, but he seemed at least a little comforted. “Okay,” he said, turning to face the gates they were walking towards and taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Showtime.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is kinda late, I've been busy recently and I had writer's block rip. Thank you for your patience!
> 
> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr.](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/162506711349/composure-part-6)

Like everyone else in Homra, Izumo was beginning to worry about his King. Mikoto had barely left his room at all for days on end, and most people hadn’t caught more than a glimpse of him in over a week. It was disconcerting to say the least. There were rumours going around that he was sick, but Izumo wasn’t totally convinced Kings could even get sick- he didn’t think a simple flu virus would be much of a match for the red aura. Still, he was concerned, and it was getting to the point where his absence around the bar was becoming quite conspicuous. So as time passed, he resolved that he ought to do something.

Armed with a bowl of the curry he’d helped Anna make earlier in the day, Izumo knocked on the door of his friend’s bedroom.

“Oi, Mikoto, ya in there?”

He hadn’t expected a reply, so he wasn’t surprised when he only received silence from within the room.

“I’m comin’ in,” Izumo warned, then gave him a few seconds before pushing open the door.

He found his friend lying on the couch in his small apartment, staring at the TV with a glassy look in his eyes, clearly not paying attention to the show that was playing. There was a sort of tension in his jaw- it was the kind of look he got on his face when he’d been in a fight and let his powers get out of hand. But there wasn’t anything Izumo knew of for him to feel guilty about- the last big scuffle Mikoto had been in was weeks ago with the Blue King, and it wasn’t like he could have accidentally hurt him; Reisi was more than strong enough to hold his own.

“You’ve been holed up in here for more than a week,” Izumo pointed out, setting the curry on the coffee table and perching on the arm of the chair. “What’s up?”

Mikoto clicked his tongue, clearly not keen on the idea of chatting about it. “Nothing.”

“You’re not sick?”

“No.”

“I’ve barely seen you in nearly a fortnight, Mikoto. Ya can’t expect me to believe it’s nothin’.”

Mikoto didn’t bother to deny that.

“…I heard through the grape vine that Awashima spotted ya goin’ into Sceptre 4’s HQ with Munakata a lil while back. She said when ya left again, you were covered in bruises, which apparently looked suspiciously like hickeys. It ain’t got anythin’ to do with that, has it?” Admittedly, Izumo hadn’t seen any signs of anything between Reisi and Mikoto, or at least anything on Mikoto’s end, but Seri apparently had some very strong suspicions, and he trusted her instincts.

Mikoto merely sighed.

“Ya can talk to me, ya know. Are ya seein’ Munakata?”

“No.”

“…Is that the problem? You wanna be seein’ Munakata but you’re not.”

Mikoto clicked his tongue, and there was a long pause before he conceded: “Sorta.”

Izumo took a moment to digest that, and he had to admit it sort of surprised him. But he realised too late he’d let his surprise show on his face, when Mikoto snapped:

“What?”

“I gotta admit, I thought the person you had feelings for was Totsuka…” Izumo admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Mikoto clicked his tongue, then admitted: “…Yeah.” He seemed past the point of caring about what Izumo knew.

Izumo sighed, clapping his friend on the shoulder in commiseration. “Ahh, I see. That’s a rough situation to find yourself in.”

“It’s stupid.”

“What’s stupid?”

“I’m the Red King.” _I shouldn’t be so affected by a stupid crush._ Mikoto didn’t have to finish the sentiment for Izumo to understand the gist of what he meant.

“Ya know, Munakata’s a king too, and from what I’ve heard you’re not the only one kinda torn up by this whole situation. It sucks, but just ‘cause you’re a King doesn’t mean you’re immune to lovesickness, ya know. You’re allowed to have feelings.”

Mikoto sighed again, reaching for a crumpled pack of cigarettes from the coffee table. He seemed almost… abashed?

“I can’t believe I’m actin’ like this…” Mikoto said, finally uttering more than two words in a row as he lit his cigarette.

“Bein’ torn between two people you care about sucks. Especially when it seems like something went off between you and Reisi… I dunno the whole story but it sounds like ya had some kinda disagreement, but it’s normal to feel outta sorts after somethin’ like that.”

Mikoto exhaled a ribbon of smoke, then admitted: “I messed up. Think I hurt Munakata pretty bad.”

 _There it is._ That explained the guilty look on Mikoto’s face earlier. Whatever he’d done, he felt awful for it, and he was likely hiding out up here to save face, so nobody else could figure out what it was that was bothering him so much.

“He’ll forgive you.”

Mikoto gave him a weak glare, as if asking how he could be so sure.

“At times like this, Totsuka’s catchphrase is important to keep in mind, don’t ya think? ‘It’ll all turn out alright’; you aren’t gonna feel like this forever. Munakata certainly ain’t gonna hold a grudge forever.”

“How do you know?” Mikoto replied flatly.

Izumo sighed. “Whatever happens, wallowin’ in your own dark mood ain’t gonna make you feel any better. Eat your food, take a shower, put some clean clothes on, maybe open a window and let some air in here. You’ll feel better.”

Mikoto let out a heavy, reluctant huff, but seemed as though he couldn’t be bothered to argue, so he sat up and reached for the bowl of curry as Izumo got up to open the curtains and the windows and tidy around a little. He stayed in the room until Mikoto had gotten into the shower to make sure he actually did it before heading back downstairs, but he’d only gotten half-way down when his phone rang. It was Tatara.

“Totsuka, what’s up?”

“Is King okay? He’s not answering his phone.”

“He’s in the shower at the minute,” Izumo said, turning and heading back up the stairs. When he got back to Mikoto’s room, he spotted his phone on the bedside table- he hadn’t heard it ringing whilst he was in his room, and surely enough, it didn’t respond when he tried to turn on the screen.

“Battery in his phone is dead, by the looks of it,” Izumo explained, plugging it into the charging cable.

“Can you tell him when he gets out of the shower to come to my apartment? I need to speak with him about something important.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah fine.” There was a pause. “I was attacked by a strain earlier, but I’m okay. Munakata found me before any damage could be done.”

Izumo clicked his tongue. “Ya can’t say somethin’ like that so casually. You really oughta be more careful,” he scolded.

“I know, I know, sorry. I’m okay though, really. Will you pass the message on to King?”

“Yeah, I’ll let him know to get down to your place when he gets outta the shower.”

“Thank you.”

“Be more careful,” Izumo chided again.

“Sorry! See you later.”

“See ya,” Izumo replied, then hung up.

When Mikoto came out of the bathroom, having thrown on a clean outfit, he gave Izumo a questioning look as though to ask why he was still in his bedroom.

“Totsuka called, he said he couldn’t get through to you.”

“Hm? What’d he want?” Mikoto asked, rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

“He said he wanted to talk to you, and for you to go meet him at his apartment.”

“Did he say what it was about?” Mikoto dropped the towel on his bed and ran a comb through his still somewhat damp hair.

“No. He did say he got caught up in a strain attack though.”

Mikoto’s head snapped around. “Is he okay?”

“He said he was fine.”

Mikoto clicked his tongue. “’Fine’ for Totsuka can mean anything from ‘just a scratch’ to ‘I have a bone poking through my skin,’” he grumbled.

“He didn’t sound like anything was wrong.”

Mikoto grunted suspiciously, making a grab for his jacket and throwing it on. He hadn’t bothered to dry or style his hair, nor had he put the jewellery he normally wore back on. “I’m gonna go check on him.”

“That’s probably a good call. See you later.”

Mikoto merely nodded as he pulled on his boots and headed swiftly for the door. Izumo couldn’t help but be quietly relieved he was finally leaving the building, even if it was under less-than-ideal circumstances. 

* * *

 

Having the Blue King in his apartment was unusual to say the least for Tatara, but he supposed it was something he would have to get used to. He felt bad that the place wasn’t quite as tidy as he would have wanted, but Reisi didn’t seem to mind- he wandered around the main living area, looking at the photographs on the shelves and the bits and pieces Tatara had accumulated from his various hobbies, asking the occasional question about them. It was kind of nice having him around once Tatara got over how surreal it was- apart from anything else he was very pretty to look at.

When Mikoto finally arrived, he let himself into the apartment without knocking. He appeared slightly harried, or at least as much as he would ever show it. Tatara supposed Izumo had probably told him about the strain attack and he was worried- he’d clearly rushed to get here, as his hair was still damp and hung down over his forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asked, striding over to where Tatara sat. His gaze fixated almost instantly on the wound on Tatara’s cheek, and a crease formed between his brow.

“I’m fine. Some strain caught my scent, probably had a grudge against Homra or something. He chased me around a bit, but I’m okay. Munakata got there just in time,” Tatara explained, nodding towards his guest, who Mikoto didn’t seem to have noticed until now. Mikoto seemed vaguely surprised by his presence, but he didn’t say anything about it.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Mikoto asked.

“I didn’t see any need to worry you. I’m not badly hurt. The only other wound is a little scratch on my stomach, but it’s fine. Munakata patched it up.” He lifted his shirt (or rather, Reisi’s- he’d borrowed the clean garment as his own was still bloodstained) to show the wound.

“I can assure you he is fine. I was called out to a strain incident, and I found him before any major damage could be done. I took him back to Tsubaki-Mon for first aid and to take a statement about the incident. His injuries are minor- he should be back to normal within a few days at most,” Reisi reassured, and for the first time since he arrived, Mikoto looked at Reisi properly. He seemed taken aback at the civility of his tone, but there was an air of caution about him, as though he was wary of any grudges Reisi might hold after their last encounter- Tatara didn’t know all of the details, but it seemed their most recent meeting hadn’t gone well.

“Thanks…” Mikoto said quietly, though he still looked somewhat confused as to why Reisi was there.

Tatara and Reisi exchanged a significant look, then Tatara patted the sofa for Mikoto to sit down beside him.

“We actually wanted to talk to you about something,” Tatara began as Mikoto took a seat.

Mikoto once again watched Reisi with caution as he sat down the opposite side of him to Tatara, then returned his attention to his clansman.  

“What?” Mikoto asked.

Tatara was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say. He'd been confident of the outcome of the discussion ever since he'd had the idea to propose the arrangement, but suddenly he felt daunted. He hadn't been this nervous earlier talking to Reisi, but it was different this time. The stakes felt higher somehow.

A moment  passed, and Mikoto watched him expectantly, until Reisi cleared his throat and gave Tatara a look, as though asking if he wanted him to broach the subject instead. Tatara nodded.

“As you are aware, the predicament over the past few weeks has gotten to the point where it seems to be causing all three of us a fair amount of distress. You clearly have feelings for both Totsuka and I, and obviously the events that have come about as a result of that have… not been ideal,” Reisi began.

Mikoto remained deathly quiet, his jaw clenching as though he expected bad news.

“Obviously things cannot be allowed to continue in this fashion. But Totsuka has come up with a solution which I believe will be to the benefit of all of us.”

“Go on.” Mikoto’s eyes had narrowed, almost in suspicion- it seemed as though he couldn’t quite guess what Reisi was about to say next, so he was keeping his guard up.

“We both have feelings for you too,” Tatara cut in. “And that kind of really sucked initially- it seemed like there was no way out of this without someone getting hurt. But I thought about it a bit, especially after I went to visit Munakata a couple of weeks ago. I never imagined him and I being close; to be honest I didn't think he liked me very much.”

Reisi chuckled at that.

“But we actually got along quite well, and I found myself thinking about him a lot afterwards. As time went on I realised I was sort of sweet on him, and when I went back to the Sceptre 4 headquarters earlier today it only solidified that in my head, and it turned out Reisi feels the same way about me…” Tatara took a deep breath to steady himself- he could feel himself beginning to babble- but as he did he noticed Mikoto stiffen. Tatara felt a stab of guilt- he didn't want Mikoto to think he and Reisi had chosen each other over him.

“But I never stopped feeling the way I did about you. I've felt that way for years; I've been totally infatuated with you since we were teenagers, that isn't going to change in a week and a half...” He paused for thought once more. “I’ll cut to the chase. What I’m saying is we all seem to have feelings for each other, so why should we have to choose? Maybe we should all get together, you know, as a kind of all three of us dating sort of arrangement.”

There was a moment of quiet as Mikoto processed that in his head, and Tatara could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage.

Finally, Mikoto breathed: “…Thank fuck.”

Tatara noticed a smile to flickering across Reisi’s lips as he released the breath he didn’t seem to realise he’d been holding.

“Is that a yes?” Reisi asked.

Mikoto smirked faintly, but it barely disguised his relief. “Yeah, it is.”

The next thing Tatara knew, he’d thrown his arms around Mikoto without ever quite intending to, laughing in joyful disbelief as Mikoto hugged him back tightly. His embrace was everything Tatara always thought it would be- he was warm; his arms were strong, and the familiar scent of his cologne and cigarette smoke clung to his skin. It was a relief to finally hold him like this after all the years of daydreaming about it, and it was a relief to see him happy after he’d finally emerged from being locked away in his room. The faint smile still played across Mikoto’s lips, and in that moment, Tatara couldn't resist kissing him.

The contact was chaste and gentle, and Tatara almost didn't quite believe it was happening. Even though he'd been the one that orchestrated all of this, it still seemed surreal. He'd fantasised about kissing Mikoto for years now, and now it was actually _happening,_ it seemed too good to be true. His lips tingled at the contact, and goosebumps prickled down his spine, not stopping when they finally broke apart. Mikoto pulled Tatara up so he was perched in his lap, still smiling at him. There was a softness in his hazel eyes that Tatara had never seen before.

Tatara couldn’t suppress the grin that spread across his lips, wide and goofy, and it didn’t fade when Reisi leaned in and turned Mikoto’s head with his fingertips to kiss him for himself. If anything, it only made him feel more content to watch them- it felt like a happy ending. After all the kisses Reisi and Mikoto had shared before- rough and heated, and then fuelled by anger, it only seemed fair that after the pain Reisi had been through, he could finally kiss the man he loved like this. Softly, their lips curved into subtle smiles against each other, eyelids fluttering closed as Mikoto slid his arm around Reisi’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Tatara imagined this was how Reisi had wanted it to be all along, and it seemed just that he should finally have this- if anyone deserved the man he loved to feel the same way, it was Reisi. And it made Tatara happy to get to share in it.

Their kiss didn’t break for a long moment, and when they finally did, Tatara didn’t miss the faint flush of pink on Reisi’s cheeks. That was another surreal thing- seeing Munakata Reisi in a state like this. He never expected the Blue King to be the sort of person who blushed, even just faintly. But he supposed if there was ever a time for it, it was now, when he’d just found himself with two new boyfriends. Tatara couldn’t help but lean across to peck him on the lips.

Reisi smiled at the kiss, then once Tatara had pulled away, he cleared his throat and turned to Mikoto. “I wish to apologise for the way I’ve behaved over the past few weeks. I was hurt, and I allowed it to make me spiteful, but I shouldn’t have.”

“’S alright,” Mikoto replied. “I was the bigger jerk.”

“I think what everyone did is understandable considering the circumstances,” Tatara chimed in gently. “But apparently communication solves everything. Who would’ve thought, hm?” he joked.

Reisi chuckled. “It seems to me we should put the mistakes of the past few weeks behind us,” he suggested.

“Good idea,” Tatara replied, and Mikoto nodded.

“How’d you even come up with this?” Mikoto asked, looking at Tatara and gesturing with a nod between the three of them.

“…Okay, if I’m being completely honest, I sort of got the idea from a very interesting sex dream.”

Both of his boyfriends snorted at the confession.

“When I went to talk to Re-.. Can I call you Reisi?”

“I don’t see why not.” Reisi replied, but there was a faint smirk on his lips, as if to say _it’s not as though you weren’t moaning that name earlier._

“When I went to talk to Reisi a little while back, I was I guess contemplating the reasons you seemed to have feelings for him, and I couldn’t help but notice he’s… well, he’s really hot, to put it bluntly.”

Mikoto chuckled.

“And once you notice that sorta thing you can’t un-notice it. And I guess it sort of snuck into my subconscious somewhere… If we’re being totally honest, I’ve had a fair few sex dreams about you in my time,” Tatara admitted, looking at Mikoto. He could feel his face heating up.

“And recently, Reisi turned up in one of them, and there was a moment after the main event where you were kissing each other and, I dunno, it just sort of set a lightbulb off when I woke up. I wanted both of you, but I also wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea of you wanting each other. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea- not just the threesomes (though I’m definitely looking forward to that) but I also just like the idea of you having each other, too. You’re a good match. I was telling Reisi about it before- he’s your stopper as much as I am.”

Mikoto nodded slowly, and Tatara noticed a faint smile on Reisi’s face.

“…Speaking of sex, in the, uh, interests of full disclosure, I figure you should probably know Reisi and I sorta… well, we figured this was the kind of discussion you want to have with a clear head and we were both kind of riled up earlier…” Tatara admitted. He couldn’t resist bracing himself, half-worried Mikoto would be jealous or something at the news, and he couldn’t quite force out the details of exactly what happened.

“We had sex,” Reisi finished the sentiment for him.

Mikoto merely gave a faint smirk, addressing Tatara: “He’s good, isn’t he?”

Tatara chuckled, relieved he took it well. “Very. And I was told some very interesting things about you and a pair of handcuffs.”

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, addressing Reisi: “Gossip.”

Reisi pushed his glasses up his nose. “You should be grateful people are saying good things about you behind your back.”

Mikoto and Tatara chuckled, and Tatara was once again struck by how surreal this all seemed. His anxiety beforehand seemed silly in retrospect- knowing how Mikoto felt, he didn’t expect him to say no. But knowing it was real now was… a lot to process. Certainly, going from being single to having two boyfriends who happened to be the Red and Blue Kings was quite a change to wrap his head around, especially after the weeks of feeling hopeless and thinking there was no way out of this that didn’t leave at least one person burned.

But as weird as it felt to be sitting beside the two Kings, knowing he was theirs, and they were his, it also felt _right_. It was comforting to hear them return to their normal banter after the frosty silence, and to see Mikoto back to his usual casual self. He normally seemed so calm, even when he was having a tough time, so to see something visibly get under his skin the way this whole scenario had was disconcerting. Thankfully though, now it was over, the tension seemed to have fallen out of his body. He had one arm lazily slung over Reisi’s shoulders, and the other around Tatara’s waist, relaxing into the touch of his new lovers. It was a relief to see him happy.

Reisi seemed happy too- he usually kept up his professional front at almost all times, but for once he’d allowed himself to let his guard down a little, and his contentment was written all over him. He’d sunken into the warmth of Mikoto’s body, and there was a serene look in his eyes- Tatara supposed he felt the same way as he did. After all the tension and heartbreak of what had felt far longer than a mere few weeks, it was a relief to be at the finish line, things having turned out far better than anyone could have hoped for. Well, sort of a finish line, and sort of a starting line.

The casual intimacy would definitely take some time to get used to; Tatara still didn’t quite dare to believe he wasn’t dreaming. He’d fantasised about being able to do things like cuddling like this with Mikoto for… longer than he cared to admit.

It was strange though- almost the opposite was true with Reisi. He’d never even considered seeing him in this way until a short while ago, but infatuation had hit him hard, and he found himself staring at Reisi just as often as he was staring at Mikoto, admiring the different ways in which the two Kings were beautiful as he listened to them continuing their playful banter.

Everything about this scenario seemed so dreamlike, especially the way it had been so… easy. After everything, all it had taken was a short conversation, and then they’d fallen straight into being together in this way as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was _weird._

But it was a good weird- ever since Mikoto had said yes, Tatara’s chest had been filled with a sort of warm sensation swelling against his ribcage, and he couldn’t keep a smile from creeping across his lips. He was happy to be with them, but he was almost happier to know they were happy. They deserved it, and if he could be a part of that, then all the better.


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay on this chapter!! Writer's block and other deadlines have made finishing it a struggle, but it's finally done! Thank you for all your support on this very self-indulgent fic!!
> 
> This chapter can also be found on [Tumblr](http://mistleto-3.tumblr.com/post/169021995939/composure-part-7-finale).

Tatara didn't quite dare believe he'd actually woken up the next morning; when he found himself lying with his head on Mikoto's bare chest, the warmth of his body and the smell of his skin certainly felt far too good to be anything other than a dream. But they were far too vivid to be anything but reality. He let out a contented sigh; he could get used to this.

The three of them had stayed together the previous night, ordered takeout, talked, cuddled on the couch (it had taken a little while to work out the logistics of cuddling with two rather tall men on Tatara's tiny couch, but eventually they got it down), watched movies, and just... hung out. There had also been a lot of kissing involved, mostly initiated by Tatara, who was still in disbelief that the two tall, attractive Kings folded up together with him on his sofa were now his _boyfriends._

It had reached the small hours of the morning before they realised how late it had gotten, Tatara's offer of a sleepover was promptly accepted. Once again, it had been a tight squeeze fitting all three of them in Tatara's modestly-sized double bed, but nobody had objected to cuddling up to save space (albeit with the air conditioning turned right up- it had been no surprise that sleeping with the Red King was like sharing a duvet with a space heater.)

At the thought, Tatara’s reminiscing about the night before was interrupted by the realisation that the bed was slightly less cramped than he remembered it, and he rolled over to find the other side of the bed was empty, and Reisi was missing. The question of his whereabouts, however, was promptly answered by the smell of cooking omelette drifting in from the kitchen.

_Of course he's the kind of guy to cook you breakfast in the morning._

Tatara rolled over to stretch and take a moment to bask in the glow of just how lucky he'd gotten, but his basking was promptly soured by the tent in the sheets he noticed at hip height. He had still been reeling somewhat from his encounter with Reisi yesterday as he’d fallen asleep, and combined with his disbelief about getting to fall asleep between two beautiful men, his subconscious had taken his blissful mood and... run with it. It was only now he remembered what he'd dreamt about the previous night, and apparently it had been quite dramatically not safe for work. He shifted positions so the quilt would cover his predicament.

A few minutes later, Reisi came into the room, carrying three mugs of coffee. He kissed Tatara on the forehead and set the cups on the bedside table, then left the room again to bring through the plates of omelettes he'd made. Whilst he was out of the room, Tatara attempted to rouse Mikoto, though he only woke up properly when the smell of breakfast intensified as Reisi returned with the plates.

The three of them sat and ate together in comfortable silence- Mikoto was clearly far too sleepy for any sort of chit-chat. It was sort of sweet, really; there was something about the way Mikoto, shovelled his food into his mouth that was vaguely reminiscent of a sleepy house cat, and it was oddly cute, if the Red King could ever truly be cute.

Cuter though was the look in Reisi's eyes as he watched Mikoto eat; Tatara recognised it as the bliss he’d felt himself when he woke up. It was nice, seeing them together after all the time Reisi had obviously been longing for it. They really were an odd couple- Red and Blue, order and chaos, emotion and reason, late sleeper and early bird. They seemed to complement each other surprisingly well, though.

When they'd finished eating, Reisi took the plates to return them to the kitchen, and Tatara realised slightly too late that he'd been using his own as a shield to disguise the predicament in his pyjama bottoms, and now the bulge it left in the sheets was visible for all to see.

Mikoto snorted, and Reisi raised an eyebrow.

"Well good morning," Reisi said.

Tatara huffed. "Look, in my defence, you're both very handsome and you both slept in your underwear. The effect my two hot semi-naked King boyfriends have on me is not my responsibility; I can't help it if you're too pretty for your own good. Besides, I haven't had a chance to... have my way with King yet. You can't blame me for having that on my mind." Tatara paused, interrupting his nervous babbling. “…Calling one of my two King boyfriends “King” is gonna get confusing, but calling you by your name is weird.”

Mikoto shrugged lazily. “’S fine.”

"It doesn't help that all the things Reisi told me about you are chasing each other around in my head." Tatara said, looking at Mikoto.

The two Kings smirked, and Tatara sighed emphatically. "You're too attractive, both of you. It's not fair," he grumbled, then got to his feet and shuffled into the bathroom to splash his face with water and clean himself up.

"What exactly did you tell him?" Mikoto asked once Tatara had left the room, raising an eyebrow.

"That I half-expected you would have taken me right there in that alley if we had had lubricant to hand. That you were rather rough with me, both whilst you were in my mouth and elsewhere."

"You wanted it."

"Well I can't deny that."

"Bet you didn't tell him how you begged for it."

"...I may have omitted that part."

"And about how much of a masochist you are?"

Reisi adjusted his glasses with a disgruntled look.

Mikoto smirked. "Apparently you two gossip about me; how about you tell me what you got up to yesterday?"

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure how it started. One moment, I was rescuing him from an incident with a strain, and the next, I found him in my lap grinding on me. I believe there was some conversation in between the two, but there's something about that boy that makes me forget what time of day it is."

"I know what you mean," Mikoto said, but he was still giving Reisi an expectant look, waiting for the rest of the story.

Reisi cleared his throat. "I ate his ass whilst he sucked me off. And then he rode me. He's very vocal."

As Reisi spoke, Mikoto leaned in to kiss his jaw, then trail his lips down his throat.

Reisi closed his eyes to compose himself. "He is very different to you in the bedroom. You're an animal; he was very gentle, very sensual. I would like to see how the two of you are together."

"He's so breakable. I can't exactly be an animal with him."

"I believe you would be surprised; he is quite capable of holding his own, though I would suggest being gentle with him until his wound heals. By the way, I meant what I said about 'I would like to see how the two of you are together'; I have had the opportunity to be with both of you, but you haven't had a chance to be with him yet. If you wish to have some time to yourselves, I am more than content to watch. It is only fair."

"How considerate..." Mikoto's breath ghosted across Reisi's collarbone.

"You know, if we are putting on a show for Totsuka when he returns, the least we could do is take off our underwear."

Mikoto smirked and removed the garment from himself, but when Reisi reached to pull off his own boxers, Mikoto stopped his hand, then pushed him down onto his back and started kissing down his chest, pausing just above his nipple to suck on the skin, worrying at it with his teeth until Reisi was gasping and arching his back and a sizeable red mark stained his skin. Whilst they waited for Tatara, Mikoto continued leaving the marks, until half a dozen of them peppered his rib cage.

When Tatara finally emerged, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of the two of them, Mikoto's lips working their way down Reisi's abdomen as Reisi's fingers twisted in his hair. He stood in the doorway for a moment, trying frantically to compose himself as Mikoto's mouth reached Reisi's waistband, and he closed his teeth around the fabric and slowly pulled the garment down.

"What took you so long?" The strain in Reisi's voice was already beginning to show through.

"I overheard you two talking and I figured I knew where this was headed. Had to make sure I was, you know, prepped..." Tatara’s voice was slightly higher pitched than he’d intended.

"And are you?" Reisi asked.

Tatara couldn't nod fast enough, and Reisi beckoned him, resting his hands on his hips and guiding him into Mikoto's lap, who was now sitting up, having discarded Reisi's underwear onto the ground. Mikoto’s arms immediately closed around Tatara’s waist, pulling him in close, and their lips crushed together. The kiss burned with suppressed hunger; all the time the two of them had spent quietly longing for one another, longing to be able to do this, smouldered in their every movement - in the way they clung to one another, pressing their bodies tightly together; in the way their lips moved roughly together, tongues sliding forward to curl around the other's; in the way Tatara's hips bucked involuntarily towards Mikoto's...

Reisi watched them avidly; the sight of their passion sent heat immediately pooling into the pit of his stomach, and it didn't take long before his groin almost ached with arousal. It struck him all of a sudden as he reached down to wrap his fingers around his own cock how surreal this seemed. A few weeks ago, the idea of Mikoto being with Tatara like this would have made his stomach turn, rather than turning him on.

And now, he was touching himself as he watched Mikoto's lips break from Tatara's to kiss down his throat before biting down on his collarbone. There was something about knowing the bruises on Tatara's chest would match the ones on his own that made the hair on Reisi's arms stand on end. Just watching them was incredibly erotic; seeing how feral Mikoto could get as he ravaged his lover's body from an outside perspective was captivating, especially with Tatara looking so pretty, tipping his head back as he arched his spine, his perfect pink lips falling open as a soft moan escaped them. Mikoto's rough hands only seemed even bigger as they gripped Tatara's slender waist, then slid down over his hips, worshipping his soft skin as his fingertips made their way down to grope his ass.

In a way, it almost felt like a privilege to get to watch them, especially when, every so often, one of them would open their eyes and glance sideways at Reisi, lust smouldering in their eyes. They had obviously both wanted this for so long, whether or not they were aware of it, and now they had finally gotten their hands on one another, they couldn't drag them away.

And then Mikoto stopped- his lips had been closed around one of Tatara's nipples before he pulled away, and Tatara let out a delicious little whimper as the sensation ceased. Almost in perfect synchronisation, the two of them turned to look at Reisi, and a smirk played across Mikoto's lips that made the arousal burning in Reisi's abdomen flare uncomfortably.

"You should suck his cock before he gets too lonely over there," Mikoto suggested, and Tatara grinned playfully, climbing out of Mikoto's lap. Mikoto pushed Reisi gently, gesturing for him to move up the bed, and he sat obediently against the headboard as Tatara crawled in between his thighs, licking his lips. He looked as though he was just about to set to work when Mikoto interrupted him:

"Totsuka."

He looked up at the sound of his name.

"Do you wanna be fucked?"

Tatara paused, his gaze dropping from Mikoto's face to his erection and lingering there for a long moment before he said: "If you're asking if I want _that thing_ inside me, the answer is _emphatically yes_. You know, I always had my suspicions about how you'd look naked; you wear a lot of very tight jeans, and apparently I was more right than I thought. That thing is a size queen's wet dream and I'm sort of a size queen." Once again, Tatara found himself babbling, and he pressed his fingertips to his lips to quiet himself.

Mikoto smirked, and a smug look crossed Reisi's face, almost as though to tease Tatara that he'd already gotten the chance to have _that thing_ inside him. Tatara pouted briefly, then pushed Reisi's hand away from his cock to wrap his own around it and flicked his tongue across the tip. The sensation immediately wiped the smugness off Reisi's face, and his eyes closed as he savoured the feeling. Tatara then set about teasing his partner, wrapping his lips around the head of Reisi's cock and bobbing his head, his motions almost achingly slow. His tongue never wandered any further down than the tip, and as he pumped the base, his fingers only gently trailed across the skin. Reisi hissed quietly, but kept his cool, watching Tatara raptly.

Meanwhile, Mikoto kissed down Tatara’s spine, counting each ridge of bone until his lips reached the small of his back, just above his waistband, where he sunk his teeth in once more to leave another bruise on his soft skin. Tatara let out a whimper around Reisi’s cock at the sweet pain.

“Aren’t you being a little rough, Suoh?” Reisi’s tone was light-hearted.

“I was rougher with you.”

“I don’t mind,” Tatara piped up. “I like it. Just ‘cause I’m not a King doesn’t mean I’m going to break.”

“You are still injured. We will be able to man-handle you as you said you wished much sooner if you don’t make it worse by moving too fast.”

Tatara gave an exaggerated huff. “Fine, but love bites aren’t exactly any extra exertion.”

“What’s this about man-handling?” Mikoto asked, hooking his fingers under the waistband of Tatara’s underwear.

“Reisi told me about how you manhandled him, and I said it sounded like fun.”

Mikoto gave a gruff chuckle. “When you’re healed.”

“Reisi is rubbing off on you.”

“If I’m gonna hurt you, I want it to be the kinda hurt you enjoy.”

Tatara sighed again. “I’m holding you to this manhandling thing. Seriously. I don’t want my feet to touch the ground the whole time. Pick me up between you and don’t put me down until my legs are too shaky to hold me up anyway.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Reisi said.

Mikoto merely grunted in agreement, then nipped the just-bared flesh of Tatara’s ass, and Tatara let out a pleasured yelp. Meanwhile, Reisi slid down the bed so he was lying flat on his back and lifted Tatara to lie on top of him, his knees either side of Reisi’s hips, and Tatara whined in protest as his cock slid out of reach of his mouth.

Reisi kissed his jaw. “Watching you and Suoh will be more than enough of a tease for now, thank you very much.”

“I took your underwear off with my teeth; call me by my first name,” Mikoto piped up.

“I’m sure you will give me plenty of reason to say your name.”

Mikoto chuckled, then set his hands once more on Tatara’s hips, lifting them so his ass was in the air, and kissed and nipped at the soft flesh of his inner thigh, trailing his mouth slowly upwards. Tatara tensed expectantly as Mikoto lay his hands on his ass cheeks, spreading them gently, then let out a shaky sigh as Mikoto’s tongue swept across his entrance. He was slow, experimental at first, but the little whimpers and moans and twitches of Tatara’s hips spurred him on, and it wasn’t long before he had his face buried between his thighs, lapping at him eagerly. Reisi held Tatara up as Mikoto set to work on him, peppering kisses over the love bites Mikoto had left across his chest.

“Nn… A-aren’t you going to use your fingers? Not that you aren’t really good at that, but… the sooner you prep me, the sooner you can start screwing me,” Tatara said impatiently, his voice wavering from the pleasure, and then he paused and addressed Reisi: “The lube is in the top drawer…”

Reisi smirked and reached for it, handing it to Mikoto, and Mikoto popped the cap off and slicked his fingers with it. It was only then that he lifted his mouth away from its task, biting his lip as he reached down to massage Tatara’s entrance with his fingertip, rubbing in gentle circles and savouring the way he twitched impatiently before he finally gave in and slid a digit inside.

“Nn… King…”

As Mikoto slowly began to thrust the finger inside him, Reisi stroked Tatara’s hair, running the fingers of his other hand up and down his back as he kissed across his jaw and throat. The sounds that poured past his lips as Mikoto fingered him made the hair on the back of Reisi’s neck stand on end.

“More…” Tatara breathed the word into Reisi’s ear, but Mikoto seemed to hear him just fine, as he pressed another finger into him. Tatara’s lips found Reisi’s, muffling his groans in a heated kiss as he rolled his hips towards Mikoto’s fingers, grinding his groin against Reisi’s at he did so. The whimpers issuing from his lips became more and more impatient, but as desperate as he became, Mikoto’s ministrations remained slow and thorough. Tatara seemed about ready to beg when Mikoto pressed a third finger inside him, and he broke the kiss to bury his face in Reisi’s shoulder, biting down on the skin gently to muffle his groan of pleasure. His lips closed on the skin, and he sucked on it between moans, leaving a faint bruise to match the ones Mikoto had made before him.

“You weren’t kidding about him being vocal,” Mikoto remarked.

“King~…”

“I think he wants something,” Reisi said.

“F-fuck… fuck me…”

“I dunno if I’ve ever heard him swear,” Mikoto said with a smirk.

“Please!”

“Don’t tease him, Suoh.”

Obediently, Mikoto withdrew his fingers, and Reisi lifted Tatara off him to lay him on his back on the mattress, then he sat back against the headboard again, leaving Mikoto and Tatara to have their moment together. Mikoto crawled on top of him as Tatara grabbed for a pillow to stuff under his hips, and Mikoto kissed him deeply, reaching as he did so into the top drawer to fumble around for a condom. Once he’d found one, he rolled it on in a hurry and coated it with more of the lubricant. Meanwhile, the little whiny gasps Tatara was letting out were getting increasingly desperate, until Mikoto finally pressed the head of his cock against him and Tatara rolled his hips towards him, pressing him inside.

“Oh my god…” he breathed, throwing his arms around Mikoto’s shoulders and clawing at his back.

They moved slowly at first, Mikoto easing himself in with measured, steady thrusts, pressing ever so slightly deeper with each one. His gaze was fixed on Tatara’s face, watching his expression attentively for the slightest hint of discomfort. Reisi didn’t think he’d ever seen him be so gentle with anything.

Slowly, his movements sped up, prompted by the way Tatara wrapped his legs around his hips to pull him in deeper, and the flood of high, breathy whimpers issuing from his throat. Their bodies seemed to fit so perfectly together as they savoured the sensation, clinging to each other as though nothing else in the world mattered. Their lips caught one another’s between the moans and grunts of pleasure as they rocked their hips in tandem. It was a side of Mikoto Reisi had never seen before, the way his hands roamed up and down Tatara’s sides, almost reverently, the way he hold him close against his chest as they made love. Reisi wouldn’t have pegged Mikoto as much of a romantic, but it was obvious to see the care in the way he moved. They seemed to savour the sensation, trying to keep their eyes open as best they could to watch each other’s faces, as though trying to process that they were really together like that. The months, years, they must have wanted each other burned in every gentle touch, every time Tatara’s back arched and his toes curled.

But Reisi was surprised to find that he wasn’t jealous, because he had seen Mikoto long for him too, seen the way he’d kissed him in his office a few weeks ago as though he didn’t have the power to stop himself. And he’d seen Tatara blush as he avoided eye contact with him, the sweet little crush blossoming in him written all over his mannerisms. And he was here to watch their passion. Every whine that escaped Tatara’s lips sent a fresh wave of goosebumps down Reisi’s back. His eyes were transfixed on the way Mikoto’s body moved, the way his hips rolled and his back tensed, and the look of ecstasy on Tatara’s face as his head rolled back.

“K-King… you’re gonna make me…”

The sound snapped Reisi from his thoughts as he watched Tatara convulse under Mikoto, clinging to his shoulders as though for dear life as his back arched.

“K-King!” he repeated, but the second half of the word dissolved into a cry of pleasure as his orgasm overwhelmed him. A long moment passed before his groans gave way to exhausted gasps for breath, and he slumped back against the mattress. Mikoto sat up and pulled out of him, admiring the sight of Tatara’s cum splattered up his chest with a smirk as he removed the condom.

“G-gimme like, ten, fifteen minutes and I can go again, don’t worry…” he said breathlessly, glancing up at Reisi. “Enjoy the show?”

“Very much so. Seeing that side of Suoh is interesting.”

“What d’ya mean?” Mikoto asked.

“In the bedroom, I have only ever seen him…”

“Kinky?” Tatara suggested.

“I was going to say rough, but yes.”

“I coulda been gentle if you’d asked,” Mikoto pointed out.

“I didn’t want you to be gentle at the time.”

“But you want to try it now you’ve seen him screw me like that?” Tatara offered.

Reisi pushed his glasses up his nose. “Perhaps.”

“Can I make a request?” Tatara said.

“Oh?” Reisi asked.

“Can I be the one to… you know, prep you? I’m very content being a bottom, but it means I don’t exactly get to do certain things very often…”

“Eat ass?” Mikoto piped up bluntly.

“Yes.”

“I have no objections,” Reisi said with a smirk, and Mikoto nodded in agreement.

Tatara grinned expectantly as Reisi lay down on his front, lifting his hips into the air slightly and parting his thighs, and Tatara crawled between them, chewing his lip at the view in front of him. He took a moment to stare at him, savouring the sight of someone who was normally so professional so… exposed. Of course, he’d already seen him exposed yesterday, but this seemed more intimate somehow. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then leaned down to lick small circles around Reisi’s entrance, trying to copy the things he’d enjoyed when Mikoto and Reisi had done them to him, and he was rewarded by an appreciative moan, one from Reisi and one from Mikoto, who was stroking himself at the sight.

“C-come here and let me do that for you…” Reisi prompted, and Mikoto shuffled across the bed to sit in front of him obediently, running his fingers through Reisi’s hair as Reisi promptly set about pleasuring him with his mouth.

Tatara quickly understood why his two lovers had been so eager to do this for him – there was something deliciously erotic about the taboo and the intimacy of an act like this, especially combined with the way Reisi was moaning at his ministrations around Mikoto’s cock. He quickly found himself getting hard again, resisting the urge to reach between his own thighs and stroke himself. Instead, he decided to occupy his hands with something else, and made a grab for the lube that lay discarded on the mattress to coat his fingers in it. His hands shook slightly in nervous anticipation as he positioned one of them between Reisi’s parted thighs, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. As he did so, he glanced up to see Mikoto staring at him intently over Reisi’s hips. He was smirking, seemingly intrigued, and Tatara poked his tongue out playfully, as though to tease that he was capable of doing this – although he was the type who normally preferred to be on his back whining and whimpering during sex, getting a little control like this made an interesting change of pace.

With a steady movement, Tatara inserted the first finger, trying his best once again to copy the things that had been done to him, but also doing his best not to overthink it. He was reassured by Reisi’s groan of pleasure, and let out a shuddering sigh of arousal. It was becoming difficult to ignore the needy aching between his own thighs – he’d never recovered from an orgasm this quickly before, but seeing the two men in front of him deliciously naked and playing with each other, hearing their groans, had him almost painfully hard already. He missed the sensation of having Mikoto inside him, missed it so much that it was getting difficult to think clearly.

“K-King… do you wanna finish up here? N-not that this isn’t really fun, but I… I can barely stop my hands shaking…”

Mikoto smirked almost smugly, as though he was teasing Tatara for his meek attempt at something vaguely similar to topping, and he got up to take Tatara’s place.

However, as he did, Tatara whispered: “I just really need something inside me right now…” and the tremble in his voice wiped the smirk from Mikoto’s lips. Tatara saw his cock twitch between his legs.

“W-what did you have in mind?” Reisi’s voice was breathy with pleasure.

“I have a toy…” he reached into the drawer the lubricant had been taken from and produced a slender, curved dildo made of blue silicon, and he took the lube from Mikoto (who had just coated his own fingers to slip two of them into Reisi and continue where Tatara had left off) and poured it onto the toy. He then knelt at the end of the bed in front of his two lovers and set the base of the toy against the mattress, then lowered himself onto it, barely able to disguise his haste.

Both of his lovers watched, enraptured, as he rode the toy, his groans almost disproportionately loud, until Reisi finally hissed: “Suoh… For god’s sake, that’s enough...” His hips were rolling back a little too enthusiastically onto Mikoto’s fingers, and Mikoto didn’t need telling twice. He hastened to roll a fresh condom onto himself, then pressed into Reisi from behind, slow and deep. It seemed their desire to make love had been forgotten in the light of what Tatara was doing to himself – as soon as Reisi had adjusted to the sensation of Mikoto inside him, their movements rapidly became quick and rough, Mikoto’s nails digging into Reisi’s hips. As Tatara sped up the rolling of his hips, he noticed Mikoto’s thrusts accelerating to keep pace as the sounds coming from the pair of them only spurred him on.

But it was only so long before Tatara felt himself getting a little jealous, and he whined: “I-is there any way for me to get fucked too…?” Admittedly the logistics seemed like they’d be a little complex, but right now, Tatara was past caring about having to contort himself a little – after what he’d just been doing with Mikoto, the toy just didn’t cut it, and seeing the look on Reisi’s face as Mikoto pounded him into the mattress was driving him crazy.

“I believe there is… Suoh…” Reisi began, then glanced back over his shoulder at the man fucking him.

Mikoto pulled out obediently to let him think a little clearer.

“You kneel beside the bed…” Reisi directed breathlessly.

Mikoto moved to do so, and Reisi turned over to lay on his back, his thighs dangling off the edge of the mattress either side of Mikoto’s hips. Tatara didn’t need telling where he was supposed to go – he crawled gratefully into Reisi’s lap as Mikoto grabbed another condom. Reisi reached out to take it from him, but Mikoto never handed it to him. Instead, he smirked, tearing the packaging open himself and leaning down to roll it onto Reisi’s erection with his mouth. Reisi groaned in surprise, gripping Tatara’s hips as Mikoto’s lips slid all the way down to the base of his cock, then he lifted his head off again to grab the lubricant and coat the outside of the condom with it. Reisi’s hips twitched into his hand, and Tatara tried his best to watch what Mikoto was doing over his own shoulder.

After spending ever so slightly too long stroking the lube onto Reisi’s cock, Mikoto pulled Tatara’s hips down a little so he could press the head of Reisi’s erection against his entrance. Immediately, Tatara sank downwards, easing him inside with a whimper of desperate satisfaction. As he began to ride Reisi slowly, Mikoto slid back into their lover, and the sound that escaped Reisi’s throat was almost inhuman as Mikoto pushed hilt deep into him at exactly the moment that Tatara took his full length inside him.

Neither of Reisi’s partners showed any mercy after that – as soon as Tatara was settled in his lap, he began riding him hurriedly, fuelled by the burning hunger of his hormones and the way Mikoto was breathing heavily in his ear from behind him as he pounded Reisi. And poor Reisi seemed almost catatonic with the sensation of it, unable to do much more than claw at the sheets as he was overwhelmed on two fronts. Even his cries began to catch in his throat until his voice gave out completely.

“He wasn’t even like this when I had him on his back the first time…” Mikoto grunted against Tatara’s shoulder.

“C-can you blame him~?”

Mikoto chuckled, the sound husky with pleasure.

It was thrilling to once again see Reisi come apart like this, someone normally so collected completely falling to pieces beneath the ministrations of his lovers, to the point he couldn’t even form words. Neither of his partners would ever truly get used to the sight of the Blue King squirming with ecstasy, naked and red-faced. His thighs were shaking, wrapped around Mikoto’s waist, and his hips twitched powerlessly, as though he was unable to decide whether to thrust back onto Mikoto’s cock, or up into Tatara.

He still managed to last an impressive while, though, before the pleasure built to breaking point. As he reached his limit, he began to shudder almost violently, the half-strangled noises beginning to emerge from his throat once more, and then he convulsed under Tatara, his back arching clear of the mattress as Mikoto fucked his sweet spot and Tatara took him as deep as he could inside him.

“Fuck…” was the only coherent word he could muster as his orgasm overwhelmed him, and after a long moment, he finally collapsed back onto the sheets, limp and whimpering from overstimulation as the two others, swept up in their pleasure, continued their ministrations. Mercifully, Mikoto pulled out as soon as he noticed, then lifted Tatara up by the hips to slide him off Reisi’s cock before immediately replacing it with his own.

Tatara cried out in pleasure as Mikoto filled him, tipping forward to lay his head on Reisi’s shoulder, and Reisi mischievously slid his shaking hand between Tatara’s thighs to stroke his cock in time with Mikoto’s thrusts, panting in his ear. Tatara just about had the strength to lift himself up enough to see the look on Reisi’s face, his cheeks flushed red with pleasure and what looked like embarrassment from how thoroughly his self-control had evaporated under their touch. Still, his gaze flickered between Mikoto’s expression and Tatara’s, enthralled by their pleasure as he recovered from his own.

Tatara held out against the dual assault for much less time than Reisi had, and it wasn’t long before he was muffling his exultant screams in Reisi’s shoulder as his orgasm spilled across his stomach. Almost inaudible beneath the sounds issuing from Tatara were Mikoto’s grunts of pleasure as the way his lover twitched and tightened around him drew him too over the edge.  

Tatara just about collapsed forward onto Reisi, and all three of them stayed there panting for a moment until Mikoto finally leaned back and pulled out. Reisi just about saw his arms shaking as he picked himself up and helped Tatara roll onto the mattress and off his lover. Then Mikoto fell down onto the mattress beside his partners, and the three of them snuggled in close to one another, gasping for their breath.

Tatara was the first to break the silence: “That… was the best sex of my life…”

“I can’t say I’m not enthusiastic about being able to do that whenever we desire…” Reisi concurred.

Mikoto merely grunted in agreement as Tatara, who had ended up in the middle of the tangle of limbs, kissed each of his partners on the cheek.

They lapsed into a contented silence again after that as Mikoto and Reisi mustered the willpower to remove their condoms and discard them before they fell back onto the bed once more, simply revelling in the warmth of their afterglow and the embrace of their lovers. It wasn’t difficult to tell that all of them were trying to process the events of the past 24 hours, the unexpectedness of the way they’d managed to make… this, this hope for a future together, this happiness, from the pain of the past few weeks. But now, as they exchanged lazy kisses and cuddled in against one another, the realisation was sinking in that this was really happening. They really got to be with the people they cared about without anyone getting hurt.

It was at that point Mikoto realised that he wasn’t so afraid of hurting them anymore either – he had been terrified before that giving in to his feelings for Tatara would just end up putting him in danger. But now he knew Reisi was there, his other stopper, the two of his lovers together were more than a match for the times when Mikoto’s powers burned a little too close to the surface. Tatara could calm them, and when he couldn’t, Reisi could beat them back. It had been a long time since Mikoto had felt this unafraid of himself, but the two men beside him balanced him in different but equally important ways.

And he had been so fearful of how different he and Reisi were, but now he saw that in a way, they complemented each other. Maybe Reisi could teach him how to have a little more self-control; maybe he could teach Reisi to let loose. Before, he would have just worried their polar opposite priorities would clash, and they would end up frustrating one another, but Tatara could almost mediate them, help them to find that common ground when they couldn’t always do it themselves. And he supposed Tatara would be good for Reisi, too – it was impossible not to open up to Tatara, and having someone like that around could help him learn to lean on others, talk about his feelings, share some of the burden he always carried alone…

It took Mikoto a moment to catch himself spiralling into the thoughts that were normally far too cheesy for him to ever entertain. But as much as he chastised himself internally, he had to admit he could never have imagined something so good could have come out of all of this. Lying with these two by his side, with all the happiness they’d have together laid out in front of him, was more than he ever could have hoped for.


End file.
